Black Star
by Randi of Eschaton
Summary: Just wait until the sequel is up!
1. Chapter one

Chapter One: The Girl with Hazel Eyes  
  
  
  
Duo looked around him. He was so bored! There was nothing to do around the garage he worked at. He hated to think it, but he missed fighting. The fighting, however, had ended three years ago. But more than the fighting, he missed the other Gundams, and his mobile suit, Deathscythe. But he, along with the other Gundams, had destroyed his mobile suit when the threat of Dekim Barton had ended. He sighed. It was nice to think that he wouldn't have to worry about being a target anymore, not that it had worried him, but IF something ever did happen, he would have no way of fighting, unless he used a mobile suit like a Taurus or Leo, but they just weren't as fast as Death Scythe…  
  
He walked out of the garage and took a long walk. The garage wasn't too far from the outskirts of the city he now lived in, and he had found walking out under the trees helped him to think. It was still hard to believe that he didn't have Deathscythe, or Heero, Wufei, Trowa, and Quatre. He even missed Zechs. He realized what he was thinking. He couldn't believe it. Peace sure hadn't been peaceful.  
  
Suddenly, a shadow passed overhead. He quickly looked up, but could see nothing. He shrugged. It was probably just some big bird, or a sky craft…there was another shadow. This time, he managed to get a glimpse before it disappeared. His mouth dropped open. It was a mobile suit!  
  
"Stop!" she cried, but it was of no use. The soldier was heading straight for the city and she knew he wasn't going there for a visit. She pushed her mobile suit even harder, but it was much older than the practically brand new Scorpio speeding towards the city. Aggravated, she began shouting insults into the intercom. "You stupid coward! I guess you think you have a better chance against a defenseless city than you do me. Well, you don't! Because if you try to harm anything in that city, I'm going to take that as permission to permanently remove that piece a scrap you call a mobile suit from you! And I don't mean politely!!!!" she froze for a moment: she had forgotten to disguise her voice! Thinking quickly, she began again. "Come to think of it, I wouldn't mind doin' that anyway, seein' as ta how stupid lookin' ya are!!!!" It worked. Angered, the Scorpio's pilot veered to the right. She veered with him. He was watching her every move on his radar. He completed a 180 degree turn, and was suddenly facing the old mobile suit was pursuing him. He couldn't believe it was a young girl in an old mobile suit who was chasing him! Usually, even the other Scorpios had trouble keeping up with him. But she was holding her own, even if she did have a much older mobile suit. In fact, it was practically an antique. It must have been one of the first models ever built. She definitely must have had some training. All these thoughts were flying around his head in less than a second. He fired his beam cannon. She was too close. She would never be able to escape the hit.  
  
Duo, however, had no idea what was going on. He was too busy "borrowing" a small space mining craft from the garage he worked for. The Z-Kat mining vehicle had some mid-strength lasers attached to it. He had a feeling that the pilot in the older mobile suit could use some help. His friend, Steven, walked in just as he was taking off. "Hey, Steven! I'm gunna borrow this for a few seconds. I have a party that I'm goin' to, and I'm gunna help cut the cake!!!"  
  
As he neared the place where he sighted the two mobile suits, he saw the newer turn suddenly and fire at the older. He knew the pilot, no matter how good, would never be able to dodge it. Apparently, so did the new mobile suit's pilot; it turned and was heading straight for the city. Duo began to follow the pilot heading for the city. But he saw something that he had never believed could happen take place. As the mobile suit was fired at, it sped up to intercept the blast! The old mobile suit had no shield to protect it from the blast…or did it? When it was struck, there was a strange glow surrounding it, almost like an aura of light. The light quickly faded, and the mobile suit looked normal. But it was hardly damaged, and was traveling faster. It seemed to be super-charged. It sped up even more. The vid-screen lit up, and the face of the pilot in the old mobile suit was finally shown to him. His mouth dropped open again; it was a girl!!!  
  
"Lemme guess: you're Duo Maxwell. Nice to meet you." She grinned at the bewildered, but handsome, face of the former Gundam in front of her. "I am the one they call Eschaton. It's a long story behind the name. Sorry, but I gotta catch up to the guy in the Scorpio; he's lookin' for you, and he'll destroy that city to get to you. But I don't think you're his type, so I'm going to politely explain to him that you're not. Get my meaning, mate?" Laughing, she sped off in her newly charged mobile suit. She laughed again, softly this time; she loved the particle shield she had created for her mobile suit; every beam it got hit with charged the mobile suit more and more.  
  
As she was speaking, he was staring at her. She had reddish brown hair, some of which was hanging down in her face, the rest was pulled back, in a sort of braided bun. She put up a hand to move it from her face. She had a light color skin, slightly tan, but still lighter than his; he had gotten a tan while walking in the sun so many times. Her lips looked soft and were a light rosy color, a bit pinker her cheeks, and both were obviously her natural color. But her eyes were what really held him. They were strange, mysterious. They seemed to hold many lights, which were constantly changing. They were an amber color, with bright, brilliant green highlighting them. She was smiling, and her eyes were flashing like two flames. He wasn't bewildered by the fact that she was a girl anymore: he was amazed that anyone could ever look like that…  
  
After she finished speaking and sped off, Duo's reverie lasted only a few moments longer. As soon as he had somewhat recovered from his amazement, he sped off in the direction of the city. Newly charged or not, that old mobile suit didn't look to be any match for the "Scorpio", as Eschaton had called it. He shook his head as he accelerated; he couldn't believe that anyone so gorgeous could have been a pilot, especially without him knowing about it!  
  
Leonard, the pilot of the Scorpio, was enraged. How could that little brat still be alive? Much less faster than ever! He called for backup. "Roger! We're dispatching Richard at this moment. He'll be there in about three minutes. Hang in there." Easy for him to say! Leonard thought. He's not being chased by a crazy girl in a mobile suit that's probably over half a century old, AND is acting like it's almost new! He was having to dodge about now. If he stayed in a straight line, he would have been hit by the beams she was sending in his direction. She was good, very good. He had almost been hit by more than one of them. And she was getting closer. Oh well, he thought, My backup should be here any moment. She fired again. He managed to keep from getting hit seriously, but barely, this time being grazed on the helm of his mobile suit. He spotted another Scorpio on his radar and smiled. She was definitely going to be punished!  
  
Richard was a good pilot. He was also a good friend of Leonard's. When he saw how hard-pressed Leonard was to escape the hits, he got angry. He slowed to a stalking speed and managed to sneak up on the old mobile suit attacking his friend. He was at her back and Leonard was at her front. "Ok, I'm ready. Let's attack her." He saw Leonard nod on his vid- screen. The fight was on. She was attacked by both and hit at the same time. The old mobile suit fell to the ground. "Ok, let's go and find that Gundam. We don't have anything else to worry about in this city. But if we can't find him, we've been ordered to destroy the city. Jenison doesn't want to risk the Gundams returning."  
  
Duo was finally catching up to the two pilots ahead of him when a third mobile suit, another Scorpio, appeared. The first Scorpio turned towards Eschaton, and the second was already at her back. Less than perhaps a second later, she was attacked and hit at the same time. He watched her fall. That was it. He got mad.  
  
Shaking her head, Eschaton looked at the screen for the damage report on her mobile suit, A Priori. It was not good. Sighing, she opened up a panel under her controls. She quickly rerouted power from the beam cannon to the turbos. Closing the panel again, she reprogrammed the computer to support two beam swords. They shouldn't have attacked her like that; she was even more dangerous with the beam swords than the beam cannon. She was through with all of this in less than a minute. Straightening up in her seat and wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead, she started up her mobile suit. It was able to move, and she thought it would be able to fly. It was admittedly a bit unstable, but it would last her through this fight. She took off into the air. She became aware that something was happening with the two Scorpios that had attacked her. They were being attacked by something. A small mining craft! "Duo!" she shouted. He had no idea what he was getting into!  
  
Leonard couldn't believe that he was being attacked by some idiot in a mining vehicle. Especially such an old and weak model like the Z-Kat. He began shooting at it. He was only using bullets. He wanted to save energy in case that girl managed to live through the crash. If she did, he would have some fun killing her. Richard, on the other hand, was more amused than angered. He was toying with the person inside the Z-Kat. Dodging the laser beams easily, he kept getting behind it and using his beam cannon to narrowly miss it. He roared with laughter. This was fun!  
  
Duo was not laughing. In fact, he was not even smiling. He was scowling with concentration. Maybe this was not such a good idea. He did not have anything strong enough to really damage the Scorpios. He should've tried to find something a little stronger to attack with. Oh well. He was resigned. He was going to try to give the girl, Eschaton, enough time to escape from the wreckage of her mobile suit, if she had survived. He had a feeling she had. Suddenly, he was hit by a barrage of bullets from one of the mobile suits. He was going down!  
  
"Oh Duo, you idiot." She whispered to herself. It was obvious he had no chance against the two Scorpios. Suddenly, she saw him get hit and fall. "No!" she cried. "That's it!" She drew twin beam swords from the back of A Priori. The pilots of the two Scorpios were going to discover the true meaning of defeat. "Hey you! Metal brains!" she shouted. "I hope you have health insurance, cuz you're gunna need it once I'm through with you!"  
  
The beam swords flashed through the air like two flames. Leonard's mobile suit was hit in the back. His turbos damaged, he fell to the ground; he would not be able to escape through the air. She turned to Richard. His hands were now more than full. He turned in an attempt to escape, but to no avail. In a matter of moments, the twin swords had completely disabled the turbos on his mobile suit. He managed to land safely, quickly teaming up with Leonard. The A Priori landed gently on the ground. Eschaton quickly opened up the panel and rerouted the power from the turbos to the beam swords and particle shield. She had no need for flight now. She wouldn't leave until she was sure of what had happened to Duo. And she wasn't going to be able to find out until the two Scorpios were gone. Which meant that they were soon to be going on a short vacation cruise for two.  
  
Duo kicked the hatch open and climbed out of the Z-Kat. He looked at it. There were bullet holes, the gas tanks were practically gone, the lasers were burnt out, and the engine was virtually, and literally, shot. Steven was definitely going to be mad at him. He looked up at the two Scorpios above him. He saw Eschaton's mobile suit drawing it's twin beam swords and attack both of the Scorpios. Both mobile suits were forced to the ground. He knew they had been disabled, and he saw the A Priori landing delicately. It seemed as though Eschaton was just standing there for a few moments. In fact, it seemed as though everything, even time, was just standing still. But he knew that the stillness wouldn't last long. It never did.  
  
It seemed to be just like training to Richard. Forced to the ground and having a partner to help him fight. He and Leonard had fought together many times. That was why he had been chosen as Leonard's partner. They could fight together as one. Having known each other for a long time, they also knew each other's every technique, attack, and habits. That girl had no chance.  
  
Eschaton was trying to get a message to Duo. She wanted to know if he was alright. Finally, she was able to get a message across to the mining vehicle. "Duo! Are you there?" Holding her breath, she waited for an answer.  
  
Duo heard the message. He climbed into the wrecked Z-Kat to answer. Eschaton's face was in the vid-screen. She looked slightly worried, and very angry. "Yeah, I'm fine. Who ARE you?" Looking a bit relieved, she answered him. "I'll explain that in a while. They're also going to want to know. Hold on a minute, and then, you'll know what this is about. But right now, I'm going to get them back for messin' up my paint job. I just washed this thing, yah know? Oh well, I guess they didn't take the fact that you just aren't their type that well. But they didn't have to shoot the messenger!" Grinning, she waved at him. "I'm going to see if they wanna dance, been forever since I've gotten a good dance partner, even more since I've had two, so I'm hopin' that they won't mind dancin' with a poor lil' gal like me, see ya!" Duo sat back. He definitely wanted to know who she was, what she was doing in a mobile suit, why the Scorpios were looking for him, the list went on for quite a while. But mostly, he wanted to know her phone number.  
  
"Hello there, big boys," came the impudent voice over the radio. A face flickered across Richard's vid-screen. Although it was a quite attractive face, he decidedly didn't like it. Perhaps because he knew he was about to have to attack it. And one should not think their target looks good. Besides, she had too much of an attitude for her own good. And that was going to cost her. In fact, it was going to be her life that would turn out to be the payment in the end.  
  
Eschaton, however, wasn't thinking of payment. She was thinking of how to defeat both Scorpios at the same time. And that was a bit complicated for anyone in a mobile suit as old as hers. But she didn't really care about that; she just wanted to get the fight over with so she could talk to Duo and explain everything to him. If he was anything like the other guys she knew, it might take a long time. But she had a feeling neither one of them would care if it did. Suddenly, one of the Scorpios fired at her. She dodged easily, only to find the other firing at the spot she was moving to. This might be more difficult than she imagined. But she definitely didn't mind that: she loved a challenge.  
  
Although the girl managed to dodge both of their attacks, Leonard was sure of victory. After all, who could hope to stand against soldiers who belonged to the Son of Darkness? Definitely not her. Especially if she was fighting Richard and him at the same time. Definitely not. She had no chance.  
  
Duo watched her neatly dodge both attacks. It seemed that even if her mobile suit was much older and slower, she seemed to be able to dodge about without much of a problem. Of course, she hadn't really been hit with anything too serious, other than the double attack she was first brought down with. He settled down to watch. He didn't want to leave. He wanted to be sure who won. And both Eschaton and the soldiers had some answers for him. But he thought he would rather ask Eschaton; she looked better, and actually had a sense of humor. His thoughts were interrupted as the fight started in earnest.  
  
Eschaton was tired of playing. She couldn't believe that they made such a good team. There were very few guys that she knew who could fight together like that. They weren't even sending each other signals to indicate what they were going to do next. She was being hard pressed to dodge all of their attacks. But she had not yet even begun to fight.  
  
Richard couldn't believe that it was so easy to keep her at bay. If she was good enough to disable both Scorpios in less than a minute after crashing, how come she couldn't even attack them now? Had her controls been damaged? Oh well, he thought, at least I don't have to worry about one of us getting killed. Sure makes this job easy.  
  
It was right then that Eschaton began her attack.  
  
She knew that she had to speed up. And to do that, she needed to make them mad enough to use their beam cannons so the particle shield could recharge her mobile suit. And she definitely knew how to do that. She just had to turn 'round south, make fun of the guys, and then she sure was going to give them a big surprise!  
  
"Hey, dust brains!" She shouted. "I know you're there, I can smell the stench from way over here!" she turned her mobile suit away, so it's back was towards the two attacking Scorpios. "C'mon, can't you see that my eyes are closed?" Spreading the arms of A Priori wide, she said, "C'mon, my arms are open to make an easy target, or d'yah want I should get a bit closer. I'm already havin' ta talk like I'm some kinda teacher for lil' kids so you idiots can understand what I'm sayin', yah know what I mean?" One of the Scorpios charged from behind. Moving quickly, she side-stepped the attacking Scorpio. Spinning around as it sped by her, she brought the twin beam swords into play, giving the mobile suit a double slash across the back.  
  
Leonard was enflamed that she had struck him so easily. He decided to end it once and for all. He pulled out his beam cannon. "Now!" he shouted into the intercom. Both Scorpios fired their beams at the head of the older mobile suit. It didn't budge out of the way, not even trying to dodge the attack in the least way possible. She must have a death wish… he thought, staring at the stationary mobile suit. It was bombarded by both beams at the same time. The atmosphere of the battle became full of smoke.  
  
Eschaton laughed. Her mobile suit was charged. So was she. Her attack began in earnest now. Closing on Richard's mobile suit, she began using her twin flames, the beam swords, to attack. Parrying one of his thrusts, she spread both arms wide. She swept the twin flames inward, in a scything motion. The Scorpio was shorn in half. She stepped back as it fell to the ground, speaking into her vid-screen. "Hey, Duo! Could ya do me a fave and make sure our friend of the messed up metal doesn't miss the encore performance? Thanks, I knew I could count on you!" She turned her attention to Leonard's Scorpio. "Next?" She enquired sweetly. "Second floor, scrap parts, lasers, ladies' lingerie, and busted up Scorpios, any coming out on this floor?" Leonard charged towards her. "Oh, I suppose that would be you sir. Well, make sure you don't injure any fellow shoppers when you exeunt from the elevator. Thank you, have a nice day! By the by, smoking is definitely allowed!!"  
  
Duo was laughing as he walked over to the smoldering wreckage of the Scorpio. She DEFINITELY had a good sense of humor! He had heard her speech as he was walking away from the Z-Kat. Still grinning, he pulled the coughing pilot from the smoking wreckage. "Some gal, eh?" he said. "I think she wants to talk to you, so do me the favor of sitting quietly. I don't feel like chasing you down, or killing you, at least not for another few minutes, but I'm getting a bit bored right now, if you catch my drift." He added nastily. I don't think he will run, Duo thought to himself. I know I sure wouldn't want to run if I was going to talk to a girl like that!!!  
  
As she was saying her last lines, she swept the swords, which she was then holding in an old warrior's ready stance, towards the Scorpio's mid- section. Although Leonard managed to dodge the worst of it, the Scorpio was almost sliced through to the cock-pit. The mobile suit was smoking. He was angry. She was acting as if this was all a joke! But there was something that she would not be prepared for. Preparing to blast open the hatch at a moment's notice, he began to fight harder than ever. This was something he had never hoped to do, but he knew he would survive if he did it right. But now, he had to get her close enough. A confrontation that had started less than half an hour ago was turning into a true dance of death. She was his partner. And he knew the dance well.  
  
Eschaton was watching the Scorpio warily. Something was definitely up. It wasn't acting as cautious as it had been. It was no longer trying to keep her far away, but instead kept trying to close with her. The pilot had to be planning something; perhaps a self detonation? No, he stood nothing to gain by self detonating. UNLESS, of course, he knew he would survive. Then, he stood everything to gain. She managed to escape yet another attempt to close, giving him a third deep slash to the back. If he kept this up, he would soon be completely disabled, which would be very good for her. But was definitely not what he thought would happen. She got tired of wondering and decided to close on him. If something is going to happen, she thought to herself, then it will happen, whether I try to avoid it or not!  
  
She could not have realized how correct she was.  
  
Richard looked on, no longer able to help his friend fight the girl that was giving them so much trouble. This angered him. He felt as though he were letting his greatest friend down when he needed him most. He watched as Leonard was continuously trying to close on her. Doesn't he realize that she has a superior ability with a beam sword? He wondered. He soon found out what Leonard was trying to accomplish. He looked on in startled, and dreading, amazement. This was not something they had learned in basic training, or even in the training they had been given when chosen to serve in the special forces as Scorpio pilots. This was definitely something he would have thought about many more than two times. In fact, this was something he never would have done, no matter how desperate the situation.  
  
Duo watched as Eschaton artfully dodged another slash from the heavily damaged Scorpio. She was good. She showed definite proficiency in the use of beam swords, and he knew it was difficult, and many times almost impossible to use two at the same time. But he was worried about how much the Scorpio kept trying to close in on her. The pilot had to realize how much better she was than he. Duo was amazed at how both pilots were still able to continue fighting after taking so many blows. I can't believe that they haven't both been destroyed, he thought privately to himself. Especially the old mobile suit that Eschaton was using!  
  
Eschaton wasn't too surprised that he wanted to close on her. He might think that she would break under the strain of true hand to hand combat in mobile suits. But she wasn't the type of person that broke that easily. In fact, she was the one who was breaking him, although she did not know it. But if anyone realized that they were breaking under strain, it was Leonard  
  
He couldn't believe it. He had managed to close with her, but she was still evading his attacks so well that he could not hold her for even a moment. She did not stay in once she had scored an attack. Like an attacking wolf, she struck and kept her distance, searching for her next chance, and taking it as it came along. But maybe that caution could be used to his advantage. He wasn't sure he would be able to fend off many more of her attacks: they were hard and fast. He again remembered the comparison he had made to a wolf. He shook his head. It was more like the great black dragon attacking him than a wolf. And if that was a more apt description, that could mean that she would get even stronger as the fight wore on. Already, he had tried using his beam cannon, but that did more harm than good in his thinking; she got faster with each blow, even moving so she would take it more in the center. It was then that he had an idea. An idea that could prove to destroy the great dragon that was attacking him.  
  
As Eschaton continued to fight, she reflected that he seemed to be trying to get a hold of her mobile suit. She wondered what he was going to do if he did. She would just slash at him with one or both of the twin flames, effectively freeing herself, and most probably destroying him in the process. Oh well, she though, it does no good just thinking. I'd better go on and finish this off. She had no idea how right she was. It was about to be over in a way more complete than she had expected.  
  
Duo continued to watch. He couldn't help but wonder how it was that she was able to continue taking the blasts from the beam cannon. Especially how she could get even faster and have so little damage after every hit. But the fact was she did. And he admired her for that. She also had a tremendous amount of daring to be using such an old mobile suit against the new Scorpios. From what he had seen, they seemed to be a bit like the Gundams in speed and power. Maybe even stronger. Perhaps with even more maneuverability and protection. But he then saw something he knew a Gundam would never do. Something that he would not have done to win any fight, no matter how desperate. He had never ran to avoid death. Especially while he was self detonating. He watched as Eschaton struggled to pull free. The Scorpio was glowing. It's pilot had jumped out when he had managed to grasp Eschaton's mobile suit. Eschaton swung one of her twin blades and struck the arm of the Scorpio that was about to explode. She backed away, but unless she could take off, she would be hit by the blast. And from the way she was acting, that was something the old mobile suit would not be able to take.  
  
She could not believe that this was the reason he had been trying to hold her. No pilot with a touch of honor would self detonate his mobile suit and jump free to avoid being killed! But the fact remained; he had. Struggling to free herself, she looked on in horror as the Scorpio began glowing. The engine was overloading. If she was that close when it blew…in desperation, she swung one of her flames. The arm binding her to the other mobile suit was shorn off and fell to the ground. She would not be able to run fast enough. She needed to get into the air! She began to hurriedly reprogram the computer to support the turbos. If she had ever needed to fly, it was now! Not even bothering to look about her, she took off into the air. sheathing the twin blades, she set the particle shield to its maximum strength. She was prepared. If anyone could ever be prepared for something like this.  
  
  
  
Leonard watched as she took off into the air. That shouldn't matter, he thought, it should still hit her. And he was right. She was struck full force.  
  
Duo looked on in horror as the Scorpio exploded in a gigantic fireball. Eschaton had not tried to escape; she would not have been able to get far enough away in that short a time. It seemed she had leapt into the air to lessen the impact. It did, but only slightly. He watched as once again the strange glow surrounded the old mobile suit. But so did the fireball. The old mobile suit plummeted towards the ground. It was like it had no power left to stay in the sky. That was not a good sign. It hit the ground with a deafening crash.  
  
Eschaton braced herself as she was hit by the explosion. "Please," she whispered, "please, don't fail, please." Her only chance for survival was if the particle shield held up. A Priori's instruments went wild as the particle shield began absorbing the explosion. It was too much. Overloading, the particle shield abruptly flickered out. A Priori was engulfed by flame. She fell about 500 feet to the ground, utterly without control. Utterly without hope.  
  
Richard watched, unbelieving. How could Leonard have done such a thing? It was completely without honor. It was a complete waste of life. If one died in battle, while fighting, it was not a waste. But she was such a good pilot, surely he realized that if they could manage to get her to join them… the old mobile suit seemed to fall in slow motion. But in reality, it fell with mind shattering speed. 


	2. Chapter two

Chapter two: When the Light has Dimmed  
  
  
  
Duo ran towards the smoldering mobile suit. Looking back, he was slightly surprised to see that the pilot he had captured had followed him, indeed, he also looked worried. He looked forward, narrowly managing to stay on his feet after tripping on a rock. Amazing, he thought. How can that old thing still even resemble a mobile suit????? It still looked like it was some relic of a mobile suit, one that had been retrieved from space, from one of the first wars between the Earth and the colonies. But had she survived?  
  
Richard saw Leonard sauntering up towards the wreckage, laughing. "How could you do something like that???" he demanded angrily. "Have you no honor?" "Oh shut up. You're just jealous because I'm a better pilot than you are. I finished her off. You managed to get captured. Hah, I have more honor than you and that girl do put together." Richard was staring at the man he had called his friend for so many years. He then realized the man he met when he was sixteen had changed; he had become a stranger, an enemy. Then, he heard a sound. Looking up, he saw Duo digging through the wreckage with his bare hands, trying to get to the girl. "You're alive!" he shouted. Richard was startled. So was Leonard.  
  
Duo couldn't believe his eyes. Slumped over the controls, she looked as though she had been in a duel against ten Scorpios: a fight in which she didn't have a mobile suit. But somehow, she had survived. He cried, "You're alive!" She stirred weakly. "Yeah, what'd ya think I'd be, some lil shiny white angel???" Grinning lopsidedly, she winked. "Nah, you wouldn't think that. You'd probably think I was a lil red demon, right? Just kiddin, just kiddin, by the fates, you have a weaker sense a humor than m'sieur metal a la garbage." She painfully nodded her head in the direction of Richard. "Uh, that was a joke, feel free ta start laughin, yep, any second now, burst of laughter." He stared at her blankly. "Ok, I guess I give you permission to GET ME THE HECK OUTTA THIS SCRAP HEAP!!! That is, if you please."  
  
"Oh, uh, right" muttered Duo. He began wrestling with the harness that held her in the mobile suit. He grunted as he tried pulling it this way and that; this was definitely one of the old mobile suits. "Wait a sec." She mumbled. "Here, in my pocket, there's a knife. Arrgh! You're gunna hafta get it; I think I messed up my arm. Its in my top left pocket." She moved so that she was sitting straighter in her seat, gritting her teeth in pain. "Something tells me I should've done more sit ups this mornin', eh mate?" Duo could tell that she was in pain. She was sweating, and was visibly becoming paler by the moment. He reached into her pocket and grabbed the small knife. It was of no great value, but was a well made knife with a finely sharpened blade. He began cutting away the harness. As he was cutting the last strand, he put his hand against her shoulder to prevent her from falling. He quickly pulled it away, staring at it. Her shoulder was covered with blood! Suddenly, he heard a gunshot!  
  
Leonard froze. He was amazed to hear Duo's shout. How could she still be alive? Looking around him, he slowly slipped his hand into his jumpsuit. He glared at Duo as he was cutting away the harness, freeing the girl from the wrecked mobile suit. He would kill her, and Duo as well. And while he was at it, Richard was being annoying with all of his high and mighty talk…He pulled out the gun and leveled it, aiming straight for the forehead of the girl. Slowly, he squeezed the trigger.  
  
Unbeknownst to Leonard, Richard was watching him as he was thinking all of this. He saw Leonard pulling out the gun and leveling it at the girl. Suddenly, he realized what was happening. He grabbed his gun from the holster in his jumpsuit. He regretted it, but he had to. Besides, this man was no longer his friend. He fired.  
  
Leonard gasped, dropping the gun ere he fired. He straightened stiffly, then fell slowly to his knees. He turned his head, staring at Richard. Richard's gun was smoking in his hand. He put his left hand down to the ground, his right moving slowly to his chest. As his left was supporting him, his right hand felt the wound through his shoulder. It did not look too bad, but the damage was done. The strength seemed to be draining from his arms. Although his right hand fell to the ground, attempting to hold him up, as was his left hand, he seemed to be dragged downwards. He was flat on the ground now. He thought a cloud was passing over the sun, for it seemed to him that it was becoming darker, and colder. He levered himself over to look into the sky, for one last look at the sun. He saw the sun was not covered. He grew colder. It seemed that he finally saw the truth. He smiled. Richard was his friend, although he may not have realized it. His eyes closed for the last time. Darkness overtook him.  
  
Richard felt tears come to his eyes as he stood over his former friend. He looked peaceful and happy. Leonard was beyond mortal sight. Although Richard was standing over him, he was unseen. But it was as if Leonard was speaking to him. He felt that the true Leonard had finally returned. He felt he was forgiven.  
  
Although neither realized, Duo was watching. He felt sadness. He knew what is was like to lose a friend. And he could tell these two were friends from the sadness Richard was showing. Although Duo had never had the need to kill a friend. He turned back to Eschaton. Her shoulder was bleeding very badly. He ripped off one of his sleeves in order to make a bandage, with which he hoped to staunch the bleeding. He didn't think it would work. He wished he had told Steven in what direction he was going. He saw Eschaton open her eyes. They seemed dim in comparison to what they had been when he first saw her. She didn't look too good. "Well, I'll bet I wouldn't win any beauty contests for a few days. Course, I hate beauty contest, they're too boring for a person like me." "No, I think you'd win one against some people. Take me for example, or some of the other Gundams. Now no matter what you may look like, we could never hope to win…a bit sad in a way, don't you think?" She laughed. This guy had about as much of a sense of humor as she did. All the same, she wished she hadn't laughed, the slightest movement was painful. "Ooook, bad idea. Hey, no fair, you shouldn't be funny! Hah, never thought I'd say it, but right now, the only thing that doesn't hurt is, wait, what am I saying? Right now, even my hair hurts!" she laughed again, she couldn't help it. Laughter was usually her only escape. That and fighting.  
  
Duo wasn't sure if he should laugh or tell her to be quite. He settled for both. After laughing, he said, "Hey, and you're supposed to keep still while I put this on you. I can't put it on you if I'm laughing too hard!" A voice crackled over the heavily damaged radio in the mobile suits cockpit. "Eschaton, do you read me? This is Peter, are you there? Your signal seems to have disappeared. We don't know where to find you. Hello? Eschaton, please, respond." Duo looked over at her. "You mean that you're not the only person who's fighting against those guys in the Scorpios?" "Of course not, I couldn't be everywhere at the same time. A shame, I could make a million if I could do that trick…I should look into trying to figure out how to do it. I started the group and put one of my friends in charge. He's more of a figure head though. I usually make the decisions and lead the attacks. He's not really as experienced as I am. I started fighting pretty young."  
  
She said no more on the subject. Slipping out of the seat, she pushed some wires away from the radio speaker. Using her left arm, she began feeling under the debris. It seemed she found what she was looking for. "Peter, this is Eschaton. There's been a slight accident. Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm with the Gundam, Duo Maxwell. The Scorpio sent to find him was destroyed: he self detonated and scratched up my mobile suit." She grinned at Duo. "But there's another one, his friend. So far, he hasn't even tried to escape. I'll start up the A Priori's locating beacon, but don't come. I think I want to fix the ol' thang up. I'm going to go for a while now, I'll be back, don't worry. When I'm through fixing the A Priori, I think I'll take a small vacation, perhaps to Mauii…hmmm" The voice on the intercom began spluttering with indignation, but Eschaton didn't care. Switching off the radio, she twisted a knob to the right. A soft beep began, sounding from somewhere deep inside of the control panel.  
  
"That's something I decided to put there in case the A Priori, uh, ran outta gas on the way to the store. Or, as I once said, 'In case there's a party I just can't miss…that could definitely stand missing me…" She winked. "'Course, I always have been a bit over zealous when it comes to fighting, never run from a fight yet. Surprisingly though, this is the first time I've ever had to use the signal." "You really think that guy will listen to you and not come?" "Of course, I'm the one who set him up as our leader, and I tell him how to do the job. 'Sides, I didn't give him the word that meant to disregard the no-don't-even-think-about-coming part." Sighing, she said "I just hope I can manage to fix the A Priori, I've gotten a bit fond of the old piece a junk, and it wouldn't be the same in another mobile suit, but…" her voice trailed off. She grimaced and rubbed her shoulder, trying not to attract attention to the fact that she WAS rubbing her shoulder. Nonetheless, Duo did notice. "You shouldn't be moving your arm around too much. You'll just hurt yourself more." He gently helped her out of her seat. Eschaton felt decidedly dizzy for a few moments, but managed to collect herself before falling. Giggling madly as she swayed unsteadily, she laughed, "Great, well, I know Peter wouldn't be too happy, hehe, he'd probably think I had gotten drunk or something…Oh well, forget Peter, it's not like I listen to him that much anyway." Giving her head a shake and squaring her shoulders…as best she could…she allowed Duo to put the finishing touches on the tourniquet he had fashioned with the piece of linen ripped from his shirt.  
  
"Hey, I think you should come with me, you could probably do with a drink and…" "DUO!!! What the HELL did you do to that Z-Kat???" It was Steven. He had been trying to find Duo since the shock of seeing him speed away towards the "party" wore off. As usual, he had brought his girlfriend. "And I think you could use a change of clothes too." Duo shook his head, thinking, How is it that she is never phased by ANYTHING? As Deline, Steven's girlfriend, came to help Eschaton over to the skimmer they had arrived in, Eschaton limped back over to the remnants of her cockpit. She reached behind the seat and grabbed an old black backpack. Deline helped her climb into the skimmer, turning to Steven with a grin on her face. "There's not much room in here. Ok, Steven, get out and walk with Duo's friend. Duo, come in here so you can explain what happened to this poor girl." "I am NOT a poor girl!" Eschaton mumbled angrily. "I'll have you know that I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself…er…well, you wouldn't happen to have anything to eat, would you? I haven't eaten since about 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon, yesterday."  
  
Looking over at Duo, she added, "I saw his mobile suit on radar during my afternoon snack…ok, so, maybe I was looking for him, but I still didn't think Jenison would dare send his men after another Gundam this soon. You might say it was a bit unexpected." "S'alright," mumbled Duo, keenly aware of the interested glance Deline gave both him and Eschaton. "Later," he mouthed. Nodding, Deline yanked Steven out of the skimmer. As he was grumbling, she added, to add insult to injury, "Hey, you, I don't know who you are, but could you make sure Steven doesn't go into another bar today…he has a deadline for an old car he's restoring. You don't mind, do you?" Grinning broadly, the captive pilot saluted with a crisp "Oui mon capitaine." Getting in the last word, Duo added, "and that means you too, ok young man?" Richard grinned even wider. "Awwww, ok, but I was getting sooo thirsty…"  
  
"Hmmph, don't worry, when I find my way home, you can have something to drink…" Deline smirked, Steven could be so funny when he was trying to act annoyed. Speaking quietly out of the side of her mouth, she asked Duo if he thought it was safe to leave Steven with this man. Cutting in, Eschaton stated in a tired voice. "Oh, yeah, he's safe enough. I've had to fight him before, he probably doesn't remember, but I have. He always keeps his word. He'll go with that Steven guy wherever he may lead him. Unless, of course, it's a bar…" Duo looked over at Eschaton curiously. He had not been aware she had heard, much less that she had fought Richard before. He resolved to ask her about it after they got back to the garage and she had some sleep. She DID look tired. Before Deline started up the skimmer, Eschaton called Richard over to her. Duo was surprised he came so willingly. He didn't even look angry at being captured. "Hey, Richard, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you when you get back. I can't really talk right now, I don't think our friends would be interested in what we have to say. Don't worry," she added, giving a lopsided grin, "It'll be just like last time, only different." "Ok, see ya soon, and you might want to take the advice about the change of clothes, that jumpsuit looks like it's been jumped by a bear." "Ok, well, make sure you don't fall, I'm in no mood to hear that you had a trip…" Duo couldn't believe his ears. These two were behaving like old friends, not like enemies who were intent on destroying each other less than an hour ago. Oh well, he thought, I'm sure she'll tell me soon enough…  
  
Richard had been surprised when he finally saw her. She had changed more than a lot, she was almost unrecognizable from the young child he had met long ago, just after both her parents had died. Admittedly, her hair had been very long three years ago, but now that the braided bun her hair HAD been in had pretty much fallen apart, it was clear that her already long hair had gotten MUCH longer. She even spoke and fought differently from the girl he had fought against three years ago. He had lost against her that time too. If I had only recognized her, even just her voice, she wouldn't have gotten hurt at all. He felt miserable. At least she recognized him, even if it WAS after her mobile suit had crashed. And she wasn't even mad. At least she didn't seem it. "C'mon," grumbled Steven, "the city's this way, and you weren't serious when you said you would keep me from going to a bar, were you? I really do need a drink after alla this…" grinning, Richard just said, "Alright, which way to the garage?" Mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like "crazy insane no good brainless stinkin' pilots, never care about a mechanic's needs for a bit of a warming drink when something like THIS happens. Why, I'll bet…" Still muttering to himself under his breath, Steven began leading Richard on the long walk towards the garage.  
  
Deline kept glancing back towards Eschaton. The girl looked badly hurt and very tired, but was stubbornly keeping her eyes wide open and herself talking. "I still don't really understand why and how you came here to fight those two, and why it seems like Richard is a friend to you. Less than an hour ago, he was trying to kill you!" shaking her head, the girl sighed. "Whelp, this might take quite a while, you might wanna get all nice and comfy. I am the founder of a group dedicated to prepare for any type of emergency that could arise to threaten both the Earth and colonies." Duo gaped at her, she didn't look that old…"As you can see, I'm not really very old, but due to, well, hate to put it this way, but, circumstance beyond my control, I was forced to start fighting at a very early age. But I first started out redesigning and building a mobile suit built about sixty years ago, in fact, it was believed to be a prototype for the Gundams. That mobile suit was made of gundanium." Duo's mouth dropped even lower. "Yes, that mobile suit looks like a scrap heap today, but when I decided to fix something, I can usually do it. But A Priori only needs to last me about three more months. I have designed a new mobile suit, and when it is finished, it should be able to stand even another mobile suit's self detonation. And by that, I mean a mobile suit more powerful than the Scorpio that took out A Priori. The reason it should be able to withstand that damage is because of the proton shield I created. What you saw me using earlier was the prototype, one of my own inventions. The shield on Dark Phoenix will be substantially stronger. If you don't mind, I think I'll finish telling you about all of this later. It would be easier with my laptop, I could actually show you some records, blueprints, programming examples, and even a crude sim, but the batteries were drained when I maxed out the proton shield on A Priori. Come to think of it, I'll be lucky if the hard drive hasn't crashed due to that energy surge…I'm surprised that this old bag it was in is still around…and glad, I have so much in there that I need. But right now, you can just tell me what you're doin' here. I don't seem to recall hearing of you ever being able to stay away from a fight for more than five minutes…you've missed out on some really good ones in the past few years…"  
  
  
  
I hope you like this one. I just figured out that I need to write stuff like this on the bottom, but I'm almost to school right now, so, c ya!  
  
Ok, back from school, in the car. But not online…………..unfortunately.  
  
Oh, by the way…in chapter three, I'm actually going to have a…a……*big, gigantic fake gasp of shock* A DISCLAIMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
*gives a theatrical looking faint*  
  
*squints one eye open, hoping for applause, hears crickets…*  
  
erm, right, as I was saying, well, I've decided to go by the rules for the first time ever, well, at least PARTIALLY by the rules…(nudge, nudge, wink, wink…) so look out for a disclaimer.  
  
  
  
By the by, I think that if you liked chapters one and two, and you like Niko Nightwind's writing (an online fellow author friend, look for her stuff on ff.net!)  
  
…you're just gunna LOVE chapter, er, "BOOK" three!!! 


	3. Chapter three

DISCLAIMER: Well, I'm sure that you must realize that I didn't create some of the characters. Ok, here's the rundown on the guys, gals, and miscellanies (funny word, ain't it, and it's a real word, that's the sad part…) that I DIDN'T create:  
  
|Mobile Suits: |People: | |Wing |Duo Maxwell | |Deathscythe |Heero Yuy | |Heavyarms |Chang Wufei | |Sandrock |Trowa Barton | |Shen-Long (AKA Nataku to Wufei)|Quatre Rabera Winner | | |Zechs Marquise | |Tallgeese |Lady Une | |Vayate |Lucrezia Noin | |Mercurios |Milliardo Peacecraft | |Wing Zero |Rellena Peacecraft | |Epyon |Hilde | |Leos | | |Taurus | | |Mobile Dolls | |  
  
Now, alla the ones in the table are the ones created by the creators of Gundam Wing.  
  
Ok, now on to the story!!!  
  
Chapter three: The Eye of the Tiger  
  
It was a week after the strange appearance of the young female pilot. She had healed amazingly fast, and was already helping out in the garage. She was a lot more help than any other girl Duo had worked with as a mechanic. In fact, she seemed faster and stronger than any girl Duo had ever seen. Even stronger than Noin. And she had incredible eyesight. She always wore her long reddish brown hair in a strange looking braid, a bit like a twisted rope. She had been unfortunate: the power surge of the proton shield HAD erased her hard drive. But she was good with computers. She had set up a network for her group, the Black Stars as Duo learned it was called. The information she needed to be allowed into the network had been erased, and she needed the software at the Black Star base in order to get the information back. but she thought it would take too long and decided to hack into the network from the internet. "Really must get this fixed, admittedly, did take me longer than should've, hmmmmmmmm, oh, who cares, I'm out of practice anyway. Well, I guess I can practice on Jenison's network before I destroy it…heh, heh, heh…" She had muttered this to herself about five minutes after she had accessed the cover site, an emulator gaming site, and hacked into the database, effectively retrieving all of her information from the network. And this was not the only thing she had done to prove her proficiency, there were so many others. Countless others…Duo felt as though his head was whirling as he thought of how quickly she had healed. How was it she had explained it? "Well, I just get tired of it, and when I get tired of it, I get out of it, and that's it for that."  
  
For some reason, Duo did not doubt that she would be able to fix even a wreck like A Priori; she was good, very good, when it came to any type of machinery or electronics. But what surprised him the most was her amazing balance and reflexes. He thought back on something which had happened earlier that day. As they were sitting on a bench outside and talking about how best to go about fixing her mobile suit, some children had been playing soccer in the park. Duo had gotten up to illustrate a point when one of the boys accidentally kicked the ball too hard in the direction of the bench. Before he could even say anything, Eschaton had ducked the ball that was hurtling towards her head, reached up as it was passing over her, and grabbed the ball. He was the only one amazed that she had managed to do that. The boys came running up, apologizing profusely, until one of them, a small child of about eight, asked her if she could do that again. Laughing insanely, she said she would do better and volunteered to play for the other team; the boys were one team, and she was the other team. This delighted the soccer players to have someone who could dodge the ball better than any of them could, want to play with them. It was a rough game, there were about twenty boys playing her, but she showed such skill that she won. Nonetheless, the boys asked her if she could come and play again. She readily said, "Well, when I get some downtime, you can be sure I will!"  
  
Duo shook his head and started to work on the mobile suit some more. They had brought the A Priori to the garage in order to repair it. She immediately set to work on it, managing to climb up and perch on the arm in amazing time. As she was working on one of the outlets for the proton beam, the mobile collapsed due to the damage it had received: one of the legs simply crumpled beneath it. Duo shouted in horror as he saw her begin to fall, back first, but with amazing litheness, she twisted around, managing to cling to the damaged head spikes on the A Priori. He began to sigh in relief, but caught his breath as the other leg crumpled beneath it.  
  
Quickly pulling herself up, she was standing on the falling mobile suit's head. She leapt upwards, and as she was jumping, the smoke coming from the falling mobile suit completely cloaked Duo's vision. A few moments later, he saw something dark seeming to crawl along the ceiling through the smoke. He froze, gaping up at the creature. He didn't even realize it when a piece from the arm belonging to the rapidly falling-apart mobile suit came crashing towards him. In a lightning fast leap, the black shadow launched itself towards him, knocking him off his feet as it yelled, "LOOK OUT!" Less than a second later, the heavy piece of metal crashed to the floor, right where he had been standing. Duo had looked up when he heard the shout, and upon the sight of what seemed to him a black phantom pouncing on him, he closed his eyes as tightly as he could. He felt something strike him in the chest and fell to the ground. After he hit the ground, the weight stayed on his chest. He felt something nudge him sharply, and heard a scared voice. "Duo! Are you alright? Did I hurt you? Oh come on, open your eyes, please?????" He slowly opened his eyes, and found him looking into the extremely worried face of Eschaton.  
  
When she saw him open his eyes, she couldn't help but give a gigantic, even if slightly lopsided, grin. "H-How did you do that???" spluttered Duo. "Well, it's a long story, but I think you have a right to know it all. But right now, I think we should try to clean up just a little bit." After she got off of his chest, she grabbed a broom and thrust it towards him…sighing. After marveling at the fact she could climb and leap like that, he realized that she was extremely light: she was the lightest person Duo could ever remember knowing, he slowly began to sweep half-heartedly at dust on the floor. She grabbed another broom and joined him, which is how Richard, now proving himself to be quite a nice guy and a friend of Eschaton, saw them when he walked in. He couldn't help it: he started laughing at the ridiculous site. Eschaton glared at him for a few minutes, but after a while, the corners of her mouth began twitching, and within moments, she burst out into laughter.  
  
"Ok, I seem to think, for some strange reason, that this would take a bit more that ten minutes, and it should stay here and wait for us. Besides, I'm hungry!" All three of them erupted into laughter again. Smiling to himself, Duo thought that although she may be the lightest person he ever knew, she would eat almost anything, anytime, anywhere, as long as it was edible!  
  
Later that night.  
  
Duo was almost asleep on the couch when he was awakened by someone softly tapping him. He closed his eyes tighter and burrowed down under the blankets. Since her coming, he had decided to let her have his room while he slept on the couch. Besides, he was used to sleeping in places less than perfectly comfortable. The tapping persisted, a little harder. Grumbling, he opened his eyes to look at his watch. It was one in the morning! He closed his eyes, turned over, and hid his head under the pillow. Never one to rise early, he definitely was not getting up at one o'clock! The tapping stopped, but not for long. A few moments later, his pillow was yanked off of his head. Groggily, he tried to grab it without opening his eyes, but he heard a soft giggle. Oh, no… he thought. His eyes snapped open in enough time to see his pillow hurtle towards him, smacking him in the face. He fell off of the couch in surprise as Eschaton rolled on the floor with laughter at the look he had on his face seconds before being hit with the pillow. Grabbing the pillow, he shouted, "Death to people who wake up Gundams before lunchtime!" he brought the pillow crashing down on her. He missed as she quickly rolled to the side, grabbing the pillow and tossing it back up at him. He had not been expecting such a quick retaliation and was knocked off his feet into a sitting position on the floor, leaning against the couch. He gave her a comical look of rage. "St-stop it already! You'll wake everyone up! I want to tell you how I could climb the ceiling, remember? You're the one who asked me that question!" Grinning sheepishly, he got up. "Oh, uh, yeah, now I remember." She led him to a window.  
  
"Why are we sneaking out of the house?" he asked as he yawned. "Maybe I don't want anyone else to know for a while." She said simply. She easily opened the window and climbed out. Before he knew it, her head disappeared from view. "No, stop, this is the second story!" he dashed to the window, expecting the worst, but she was sitting on the roof, waiting for him. "I know that, silly. That's why I waited, so I could help you down. Now hurry up!" he climbed out of the window and onto the roof. "Ok, follow me and do as I do." She got up. "But don't do anything until I tell you to. I want to make sure everything will support your weight." "Maybe I should…" "No, I'm lighter than you, and I have a talent when it comes to this." She grinned at him and winked. "What, do you think I'M actually going to fall?" Duo looked across the roof and noticed that a bit further out from where she was standing, a part of the house where a bay window was placed jutted out by two feet. She began walking towards this point, not nervous in the least. She even walked a bit quickly with a bounce in her step. When she reached the edge of the roof, she laid down on her stomach and poked her head down so she could see what to expect on the climb downwards. Nodding her head, she turned around so her feet were towards the edge and began to slide downwards, catching the gutter with her hands. Carefully inching her way over to where the drain spout was, she put one hand down to grab it, then slowly put the other down. She began climbing down. Duo could see that she was climbing down rapidly, but she suddenly stopped. She seemed to listen. "Duo," she whispered, "I don't think you'll be able to climb down. Hold on a minute while I go get something." Before he could even nod in assent, she had completely let go of the spout and was falling.  
  
She landed softly and quietly on the ground, her knees bent and her fingertips brushing the ground. She listened some more. "I'll be back in a minute, I'm going to get my bag out of the bushes. I wanted to make sure I had everything I needed, so I took it out earlier today and put it outside." She dashed off to reappear a few moments later, holding her dusty old black backpack. Sitting on the ground and going through it, she began pulling out many different things. A dagger, a book, a small flat black zippered pack, and what looked like a thinly coiled snake. A snake??? Thought Duo, very confused. She smiled when she found the strange object and put everything else back into her bag. Swinging the object over her shoulder, she began to speedily climb up the side of the house and was quickly on the roof with Duo. While he was surprised at how quickly she had climbed up, he was even more surprised to see the coiled object was a long thin whip. "Ok, would you mind tying this around your chest? It would be faster and easier if you were lowered down." He looked at her incredulously. "Ok, I know you might think that I'm just a weak lil' girl," she grinned at the idea, "but I think I can prove that I'm not." "But around my chest? Isn't this usually around the waist?" She sighed, as though this was a foolish question. "Ok, first of all, your center of balance is at your waist. There is a good likelihood of you ending up being lowered down horizontally, and that would make it difficult for both of us. Second of all, if it is tied loosely but with a well made knot around your chest, you would be able to hang onto the whip, and when needed, could put out a hand to guide yourself down. Make sense to you?" He nodded quickly. "Ok then. I trust you're good at knots, right?" Duo quickly looped the end of the whip around his chest and began tying it tightly into a knot. "No! Never tie it that tightly! It could bruise your ribs!" she took the end of the whip and quickly untied the knot Duo had made. She loosened the whip and began tying a strong sturdy knot. "Alright now. Test it, see if its loose enough, but make sure the knot is strong enough." He pulled and yanked on the whip. She definitely knew how to make knots.  
  
  
  
  
  
He couldn't believe that he was hanging from the roof, only being supported by a girl who was smaller and younger than him and who was holding a whip. Life sure turned out funny sometimes. He was also surprised that she wasn't having any problems. He made it to the ground easily enough. She tossed the other end of the whip down to him. "Ok, I think I'll come down a different way. In fact, I see a tree that's pretty close to the edge of the roof." Duo watched in amazement as she walked to the edge of the roof, stopped to judge the distance, and suddenly jumped off into space, grabbing onto the limb of a tree as she fell. She pulled herself up and stood on the branch, walking easily over towards the trunk, not even bothering to look down at where she was stepping. She made her descent easily, and quickly, enough, and was soon standing on the ground next to Duo, helping him to untie the whip from his chest. Coiling it up and putting it into her bag, she picked up the bag and began to walk away through the grove of trees that made the border to the house's back yard. Duo ran after her, asking where she was going. "I'm going to where the A Priori crashed. Before it was trucked over to the garage, I took something out of it and hid it. I'd like to show it to you." Mystified, Duo followed her.  
  
  
  
Duo swung the flashlight around for about the tenth time within five minutes. It seemed that something was following them. The bushes to his right rustled ominously. He directed the light beam towards the bushes, but missed whatever had made the sound. Eschaton muttered in disgust. "I can't believe this, I can hardly see a thing like this. Hey, Duo, could you swing the light over here for a second, I need to take out my contacts." He swung the light over so she could look in her bag. She dug around a bit, then pulled out a small case for contact lenses. Putting her hands up to her eyes, she carefully took out her contacts. Duo was surprised; he hadn't even known she wore them. "Ok Duo. You can turn that light off now." "But it's so dark…" She turned towards him, the beam from the flashlight catching her eyes and causing them to give an eerie glow. Duo gasped. Her pupils were slits, just like a cat's eyes!  
  
  
  
  
  
Hope you liked it! Chapter Four is going to be even more, er, well, it'll just be more! 


	4. Chapter four

Disclaimer:  
  
Ok, you know the drill, I already did this in Ch. 3. Here's the outline:  
  
Blah blah blah blah  
  
Yadda yadda yadda  
  
Table here  
  
Blah blah blah blah blah blah  
  
  
  
And everything else…  
  
By the way, Nekomon means cat monster in Japanese.  
  
Chapter four: Stars and Stripes Forever  
  
"I know its dark. That's why I took out my contacts. They don't allow me to see properly." Duo stared at her in horror. What is she, he asked himself. "Please, just, please, don't." she said sadly. "I know what you're thinking. That I'm some kind of monster. Well, before you start calling me Nekomon," her voice softened. "please, just listen to me. But first, follow me to where the A Priori crashed. You'll have to trust me." The bushes to the right gave yet another rustle. Duo jumped and would have turned towards them, but she softly touched his arm, whispering, "Shh, don't. I have a better idea. Whatever, or whoever, that is can wait another few minutes." She led him off into the darkness, keeping one hand lightly on his arm to guide him. "Be as quiet as you possibly can," she whispered. "that will make it even more difficult for our little stalker to follow us." There was a soft thud and an even softer muttered oath. Eschaton's ears twitched. Duo stared at her, his mouth agape. "Long story about the ears, eyes, etcetera, but it sounds like our friend has run into a tree." She giggled softly. "Don't look at me like that, you'll make me laugh!" he closed his mouth and followed her in a stunned daze. Etcetera? Oh great, now what…  
  
The rest of the journey was uneventful. They neared the rocks where her mobile suit had crashed. Telling him to wait, she dashed off and jumped to a point on top of the rocks. Reaching down and getting something from in between them, she leapt down again and jogged to Duo. "Ok!" she grinned. "Lets go a few hundred more feet. There's a patch of trees by the river." The moon had risen, and it was full. The soft rays made the water glitter like liquid silver. As they sat under the trees, she took off her white jacket and exercise pants, revealing a black bodysuit. She seemed to like black a lot. Handing them too him, she reached into her bag and pulled out the whip. She also pulled out something she strapped around her waist. "Keep my jacket and pants out of sight. I'm going to go see who's following us." She slunk off into the night. She doesn't look half bad, Duo reflected, but what the hell is with her eyes and ears?  
  
Something dark was slowly walking towards him. It's Eschaton, but why is she trying to sneak up on me? The figure held something up, something metallic that glittered in the bright moonlight. A gun! Duo's thoughts screamed. That's not Eschaton! She's much smaller, and she wouldn't be holding up a gun! A dark shadow leapt from the grove of trees a few feet from where the man was standing. "Duo, quick, shine the flashlight in his face!" obeying Eschaton's voice, Duo grabbed the flashlight and let its beam fall full on the assassin's face. While he was blinking in surprise, Eschaton's whip snaked out at the man's hands, twisting itself around them and yanking the gun towards her. The man fired the gun. Eschaton performed an amazing leap, back flipping and landing in a crouch on the ground, still holding the whip. He yanked on the whip, pulling her with surprising strength. He managed to free one of his hands and aimed the gun once more at Duo. "I don't think so!" shouted Eschaton. "Hey, what's the matter? Did you go blind? It's me, Eschaton! The end of days! You know, the one that Jenison's terrified of!"  
  
That did it. Giving an insane yell of rage, the man yanked savagely on the whip and aimed the gun at her. She let the whip slide out of her hands. Reaching into the pouch at her waist, she pulled out two glittering objects. As he was shooting, she threw the two objects with deadly speed and accuracy. They slammed into the man's chest, killing him instantly. But the man had shot before he was struck. The bullet hurtled towards her. She jumped to the side, but she wasn't fast enough. "Gaah!" she grunted as the bullet slammed into her flesh. "I HATE it when that happens!" she walked over to the body and picked up her whip and took the projectiles out of his chest.  
  
She wiped them clean on the grass, then coiled up her whip, attaching it to a loop on her belt-pouch. Putting one of the glittering things in the pouch, she sauntered over to Duo, flipping the other up and down nonchalantly. "Who was that, and what are those things?" asked Duo in amazement. "THAT was one of Jenison's men, an assassin. He must have been sent here after you when neither Richard or Leonard reported that you were dead. But apparently, I'm still on the top of the most wanted dead list over there. I've definitely earned the name Eschaton, the end of days, to the Sons of Darkness, even if I do say so myself. And these, my fine friend, are throwing stars. One of my favorite weapons, other than the double scythe and twin katanas. And of course my whip." Sitting down and allowing him to use her jacket as a bandage on her arm, she began explaining everything to him.  
  
"I'm actually older than I am, I know that doesn't make sense, but it's true. I was born twenty years ago to a pair of scientists. One was the top of the field in biology, cloning, and chemically advancing the human race. The other, my mother, was at the top of the field in all manner of electronics, including mobile suits. She was originally one of the scientists in charge of building the Gundams. I was originally born to be a Gundam. But I was born deaf, blind, and the part of my brain that controlled balance and other motor skills was unformed. I died a few hours after my birth. My parents were absolutely heartbroken, but they didn't give up. If I couldn't live, then they would make me to where I could. They took some of my genes and cloned them. It took about four years, but they succeeded in changing the genes around so I would be born an advanced human. The altered my genes, combining some tiger DNA. That DNA is one of the reasons I'm like this. I have catlike eyesight, hearing, balance, speed, strength, cunning, so many different things. Perhaps most terrifying is that I have a tiger-like ferocity when it comes to fighting. If I am pushed too much, I seem to change into something that is more, or perhaps less, than human. But that's a different story.  
  
I was still destined to become a Gundam, but then something happened, something terrible. Jenison, a former friend and colleague of my father, betrayed my family. I was only seven at the time. I watched my mother and father murdered in front of me, I heard them, they, they…" she shuddered and looked away. "They screamed for me to run. But I didn't. I wanted to save them, but I couldn't. I ended up getting this." She lifted her chin and showed Duo a long, thin, cruel scar on her neck. "They tried to execute me like they did with my parents, but I didn't let them. I fought, and I'm not sure, but I think I killed some of them. I can't really remember. Then, I ran, helped by a real friend of my family's. Richard." Duo was amazed. So that was why they cared for each other so much! "All I have left is this. The original plans for the seventh Gundam. The only Gundam piloted by a female pilot."  
  
Holding up the small device she had taken from the rocks, she pressed a hidden button and a holographic image of a mobile suit appeared. It reminded him of the Deathscythe Hell, a mobile suit he had before the Marimia incident. His second to last mobile suit. It had long dragon-like wings, and a perilous looking double headed scythe appeared to be it's main weapon. She abruptly turned off the image, continuing. "Richard took me to an abbey and asked the old Abbot to hide and protect me. He agreed, and Richard left, wanting to find the person who killed his friends. The last I had heard of him, he had joined the Sons of Darkness as a pilot and was spying on them. I was taught languages, mathematics, history, writing, speaking…anything you could think of that can be taught I learned. The A Priori was a project of mine in engineering. But I was somehow found."  
  
"The Abbey was attacked by the Sons of Darkness. But they made a mistake and only sent three mobile suits. I used the A Priori and found I had a talent when it came to fighting in, and against, mobile suits. I destroyed all three, but, it…it was too late." Swallowing, she began again. "They were dead, all of them. All but one, Peter. I can still see and hear everything that happened to this day." Duo noticed that she was shaking horribly. "I left, taking Peter with me. We found friends, loyal soldiers who were willing to give their lives to save the Earth and the Colonies. We formed the Black Star Cooperation. The name holds deep meaning for me. I am originally American, even though the tiger was from Africa, and throwing stars are some of my most preferred weapons, although I'll use just about anything that has a blade," she grinned weakly. "Well, to make a long story short, that explains the star part. The black signifies death, the death of Jenison, and any who rise up to harm the Earth or the Colonies will meet that same death." An awkward silence filled the air.  
  
Duo struggled to find words, but couldn't. She grew up in an abbey? She's like me! He thought in amazement. No wonder I like her so much! But how much more of this can she take? Abruptly, she started. "Oh no! I can't believe how stupid I've been! They'll know I'm here, and that you're here! I've got to go, and you should come with me. It would be safer for all of these people if we left. Besides, I need some good pilots to be Black Stars. Here, you should take a look at the people you will be facing." She led him over to the body of the assassin. As they were standing over him, Duo noticed how small she was once again. He was an easy four inches taller than she was. He stared down at the dead form of the assassin.  
  
The man was wearing a dark shadowy gray uniform. The only ornamentation was a black sun-shaped medal on the arm. Looking down into Eschaton's catlike eyes, Duo asked her if she was sure he should go. "Yes, unless you want to be here alone the next time they come. I can't afford to be seen here. We've got to go back to the house now. I need to tell Richard. I think he'll want to return to Jenison. If he looks right, Jenison will believe that he was a prisoner and escaped. I have everything I need in this bag, everything but the A Priori. I'll have to tell Peter to send over a shuttle for the A Priori, a skimmer, and a mobile suit. Yes, we do have our own mobile suits, they're not as powerful as the Scorpios, but not for long. As soon as the proton shield is put on them, they can become far more powerful. Duo, I need to ask you a favor. Will you help me get the other Gundams to join, either that or to hide. Pretty soon, Jenison will have captured them all. He's already got Chang Wufei. I was on a spy run of the ocean base in the Atlantic when I heard of it. Apparently, your Wufei has lost a little of his edge, either that, or Jenison's men are getting strong."  
  
Duo agreed to help her. They ran back to the house, her hand once again resting on his arm to guide him through the darkness. She would have put her bag back upon her shoulder, but he refused to allow her to, putting it instead on his strong shoulders. Hey, she thought with some slight amusement. A girl could get used to this! They got back to the house at a little after seven. Eschaton had lost a lot of blood, and although she wanted to keep running, he made her slow down. Deline and Steven were already up. Steven took one look at her bloody bandage and fainted. Deline took one look at her bloody bandage and asked if she was getting in trouble again. "Why, of course not, you know me!" At hearing this, Deline gave her a comically angry look. "I know, that's why I asked."  
  
Duo couldn't help but grin. Eschaton got along with everyone. Taking the jacket tourniquet from Eschaton's arm, Deline quickly put some antibacterial ointment on the wound and swathed it in clean bandages. "I know how hungry you always are, here, take some chips. Don't even think of doing anything until you eat." Eschaton grinned happily as she was handed a bag of chips. Duo led her to the TV room. Richard was sitting on the couch Duo had been sleeping on earlier that night. "Well, I see you managed to make everyone feel sorry for you. Congratulations, now, could I have some of those chips?" Giving a broad smile, Eschaton handed over a few chips to Richard. "Now, tell me what happened." Duo launched into the story, with Eschaton adding in a few things with her mouth full of crunchy potato chips. "And then she told me to help her get the other Gundams, so I said yes, and we walked back. The end."  
  
"What, is that it? I could have sworn there was more. Well, well, well, Mizu, I see that you've managed to get even Duo in trouble. But what about me?" He had a comically tragic look pasted on his face. "Well, you can start by coming with us. You can help Duo pilot the skimmer while Sage and Moose pilot the shuttle with A Priori in it. I'll act as vanguard in the mobile suit." Duo spoke up, acting as though he had been stung by an insult. "What? You want me to be in a skimmer while you're in a mobile suit? You've got to be kidding me! And what's with Mizu?"  
  
Grinning, Eschaton put the bag of chips carefully down beside her. "Well, it takes two people to pilot the skimmer, especially if there is a chance of an attack on the skimmer. And Mizu means water in Japanese. Yes, I know, I've picked up a bit of Japanese over the years. Although I'm still not sure why Richard always insists upon calling me water. And he has always refused to tell me why. But if you want to be in a mobile suit, I guess you can either share mine or pilot your own. Our mobile suits can comfortably hold two people, and uncomfortably hold four. Very uncomfortably. Wait, hold on, I think I feel a better idea coming…Yeah, here it is!"  
  
Picking up the chips and chomping down some more, she turned again to Richard. "Ok, I'll get Tarantula to pilot the skimmer with you. Oh, and do you want me to get Bogle Gal to act as gunner so Tarantula can be co- pilot, or vice-versa?" she looked down in serious thought. "I know, I'll get Ignition and Raven to pilot the mobile suit. That way, Duo and I can be in the skimmer with you and Tarantula. Bogle Gal can be with Sage and Moose. And just in case, I'll make that skimmer another shuttle, that way, we can have one mobile suit acting as vanguard and another as backup!" she grinned happily. "Hey Duo! Think fast!" She tossed the open bag of chips at him, hitting him in the forehead as he looked at her with confusion on his face. Laughing uncontrollably, she took her computer out of her bag. Duo had put it down next to the couch while she was figuring out what to do.  
  
She hooked up a phone cord to her laptop and began signing into the internet. "Well, since I'm being truthful about who I am, what I am, and why I'm here, I might as well let you know what I really look like. Whenever I'm through arranging all of this, I'll go take a shower and change into my uniform." She was put through to CompuServe. She immediately minimized the CS window and opened up Microsoft Internet Explorer. "I've always hated CompuServe…" She opened up the emulation site that served as a front for the Black Star network. Before the page could even load up completely, an instant messenger window popped up with the name IgnitionBlaztUp8. Within moments, another appeared, this time with the name ravenLUNAtic011, and another with the name N_Igma_Sage_474. all three wanted to talk to her, and the buddy talk messages were everywhere. Sighing, she wrote an away message. "Ok, ok, I can't talk to all of you at the same time. But I'll set up the web cam. That way we can talk easier. JAM!" seeing the confused look on Duo's face, she added, "JAM is an acronym I made up when I was being bombarded by about fifteen different windows at the same time. It was easier and faster than 'Shut up already! There are too many people talking to me at the same time you idiots!' And could you pass me that bag of chips?" She reached a hand into her black bag and dug around while she was entering the code into the ROM search. Grinning happily, she pulled out a small black round camera. She connected it through her USB port into her computer. As Duo gave her the bag of chips, she removed the away message as she was positioning the web cam. In about a minute and a half, almost everyone one of the people iming her were up on the screen in different vid windows.  
  
To his surprise, he saw that two were girls. Not only that, but all were just as young as Eschaton. He decided to himself that the third was probably just the same. Duo looked at each as they started talking. Grinning evilly, Eschaton began speaking. "Heya guys, I know, I know, you're just so happy to see me…" one girl had long brown hair and purple eyes. For some reason, she reminded him of a… he couldn't believe he was thinking this, of an ELF! She began muttering angrily. "HAPPY? Did you hear that Raven? Eschaton thinks we're HAPPY! The only reason I wanted to talk to you is because we had a hacker earlier this week! But since I'm seeing the look on your face, I'm pretty sure that our stripey little hacker isn't very important. What the hell happened to you? And how come you get chips and we don't?" Eschaton, or Nekomon as he was beginning to affectionately label her, grinned as she picked a chip out of the bag and tossed it into the air, crunching down on it when it landed in her mouth. She was enjoying this to no end. "Sorry, Sage, no time for pleasantries. Could you get Moose, Tarantula, And Bogle Gal online? I need to talk to them as well. Oh, you might as well get Pete, heh, heh, heh, and could you ask him to use the sn I gave him? I think we all need another laugh right now!"  
  
Another window popped up. This girl had long black hair, and a face that was created for trouble. Duo guessed this girl was Raven. "Hey, Nayru-chan. Ignition is havin' problems with her web cam. She'll talk to you the old fashioned way; with Instant Messenger." The window that had the screen name IgnitionBlaztUp8 began blinking. It held within it, "God damn 404's! Damn them, Damn them to hell! You've got to tell me where you got that emulator! I want to play the Turtles!" Eschaton shook her head. Grinning, she typed in, "Ignition, you crazy girl. How many times must I try to tell you? This is a program I was TRYING to create before the Wufei Guy got captured!" it was then that Duo noticed her font on the instant messenger windows. Large letters with stars surrounding them!  
  
He grinned, she was always the same.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Well, this is it for Ch. 4. I'm already beginning Ch.5, but I can tell you it won't be done today. Right now, I'm doing pretty much a ch. A day, so be on the look out! And if you can't tell, I'm introducing some of my friends right now, so just hold on, I'll get to some exciting parts soon! Got to go and work on 5! C ya lata! 


	5. Chapter five

Chapter five: If You Like Pina Coladas  
  
She had been online for an hour getting everything set up when another screen name appeared on her buddy list. Noticing the screen name, she grinned wickedly and rubbed her hands together gleefully. "It's Peter! When he talks to me, I think I'll warn him, mmmmm, no, maybe I won't…he'd probably warn me right back. Oh well, I suppose it's enough just to see his sn and embarrass him about it!" Duo leaned over her shoulder to read the sn. TaRaNtUlAtamer. Bewildered, Duo asked her about it. "Um, 'scuse me, but what's with the name?" Cackling theatrically and rubbing her hands together like some old movie villain, she merely told Duo to read what they were saying. Duo did, and laughed when he figured it out.  
  
RealmOfEschaton: Well hello there young tarantula tamer!  
  
TaRaNtUlAtamer: shut up, shut up!  
  
RealmOfEschaton: do I sense some, hmmm, shall I say, aggression from you, young tarantula tamer?  
  
TaRaNtUlAtamer: NO YOU DON'T!  
  
It continued on and on like this until another person appeared on Eschaton's buddy list. TarantulaFlame. Eschaton was teasing Peter unmercifully about the two sn's.  
  
RealmOfEschaton: cmon peter, I know how much you like her! (  
  
TaRaNtUlAtamer: go jump off a bridge  
  
It was quite different with TarantulaFlame. In fact, the two appeared to be good friends. But there was still a little teasing about Peter. Duo guessed that Peter and this Tarantula person liked each other. When the girl had set up her web cam, he saw her face. She had long black-brown hair and eyes of a startlingly dark blue color. "Heya Tarantula. How's the tamer doing?" "YOU CRAZY CAT! WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME?" this continued for quite a bit until Eschaton decided she had been talking for much too long. "Oh darn, look at the time. Sorry Tarantula, but I need to go take a shower. I really wish that someone had managed to get Moose and Bogle Gal online, but I guess they were too busy competing over Moose's title as the clumsiest person ever. If you want to know what exactly is going on tomorrow, ask Raven, Ignition, and Sage. They'll explain it to you. Ok, see ya tomorrow!" she went through and said, or typed, good bye to everyone, then signed off and removed the phone line from her computer. "Alright, now I'll just be a minute!" grabbing her backpack and a c.d. from her computer, she bolted off towards the shower.  
  
Within a few minutes, there was loud music coming from the bathroom. Duo laughed. She was always one to listen to whatever she felt like. The first song was 'Basket Case' by Greenday. The second was 'Poison Ivy' by the Drifters. She was definitely the type of person who would listen to just about anything. In the middle of the third song ('One Step Closer' by Linkin Park), the c.d. was abruptly turned off. Out walked Eschaton, wearing a short pair of shorts and a short-sleeved white button down shirt with a black star pendant hanging from a collar on her neck and five golden stripes on the other. Duo noticed that she had not worn shoes. She was busily brushing her hair. He looked at her arms, legs, and face in amazement. She had stripes! Her feet reminded him slightly of paws because of the stripes and the way she walked. She didn't step flat on her feet like most humans. She walked without once touching her heels to the floor. Not even bothering to look up, she sat on a chair and pulled her hair over her shoulder. Skillfully, she began braiding her hair. She was through braiding her hair in about a minute, and when she stood up, it fell from her shoulder and curled around her legs. He also noticed something else. A long tiger striped tail was moving sinuously behind her as she walked towards them.  
  
"I didn't see that when you attacked the assassin! Why are you wearing a collar? And how did you heal that fast?" Duo was in a state of complete confusion. Not only did she have stripes, but it appeared that her bullet wound had already closed and was nearly healed. Eschaton grinned crookedly at him. "I told you, I'm like a big cat. Cat's can heal amazingly fast, although I must admit, I did use some of Moose's medicine. She might be a klutz, but the more she falls, spills, drops, and breaks, the better her chemical creations get! Plus, I thought the collar set off my skin tone." taking the large belt from her bag and fastening it around her slim waist, she began grabbing things from the bag and stuffing them into it, muttering to herself as though going through a checklist. She seemed to realize that Duo was giving her a queer look and glanced over at him. "I'm just making sure nothing was lost when A Priori crashed, it never hurts to double check, or triple check, or quadruple check, or, you get the idea. Alright now, blasting cards, check, smoke marbles, check, cyanide capsules, check…" the list went on and on. Duo was staring at her. How could so much stuff fit into one belt?  
  
Eschaton got up and looked around absent-mindedly. "Now, I'm forgetting something, I know I am. But what is it?" Richard looked down, chuckling. "You might want to put on some shoes. Mizu, you haven't changed in the least, you're just different." As Eschaton dug through her bag for a pair of shoes, Richard's hand slowly moved towards her bag of chips. Her ears twitched and without even bothering to turn, she told him on no uncertain terms that if he so much as touched a single chip, she would throw a shoe at him, maybe even two shoes, and that was only because she was in a good mood. Richard grinned yet again as he moved his hand away from the bag. "Yep, like I said, you're still the same."  
  
They spent the rest of the day talking about what they were going to do the next day. Eschaton began putting away her gear after they had come to a decision. There would be two mobile suits: one piloted by Raven and Ignition, two of Eschaton's friends, the other piloted by Duo and Eschaton. It had gotten late by that time, and Duo suddenly found himself struggling to stay awake. He had missed out on all of his sleep since he had gone to talk to Eschaton early in the morning. He looked over drowsily and saw that Richard looked tired as well. But Eschaton was another story. Instead of getting more tired as the day wore into night, she seemed to wake up with each passing moment. As he was turning this thought over and over in his mind, he heard Richard grumble. "Mizu, you may be nocturnal and everything, but we most definitely are not!" It was then that she seemed to notice them for the first time. "I'm through talking, so you both could have gone to sleep. It's not like I would have minded. In fact, why don't you just go ahead and go to sleep? I'll just curl up on the couch when I'm through packing up." She turned back towards her bag and began putting her things in order again. Duo was glad that she was letting him sleep in his own room. It got tiresome on the couch after a week.  
  
  
  
Morning came, and he heard an impatient tapping by his door. "Hold on a second…" he mumbled before turning over to lay on his stomach. No one was going to get him out of bed until he was good and ready. The tapping continued, growing louder. Duo threw his pillow at the door in a half- asleep daze. The tapping stopped. Duo sighed and pulled the blanket closer to him. It sure felt good to sleep in his own bed.  
  
  
  
"Deline, do you ever have trouble making a certain person get out of bed in the morning? Its time to go to the pick up point!" Eschaton sounded a little annoyed, but Deline knew she wasn't. She never was annoyed. "Why don't you just go in there and hit him over the head with a pillow. I have a funny feeling that it would work." Eschaton tried to look down at the floor guiltily, but failed miserably as she started to laugh. Deline joined her. Somehow or another, Deline had found out about the pillow incident, probably when Duo told Steven about it. "Alright, I'll do it!" Practically scampering off, Eschaton only took enough time to yank Richard's door open and yell for him to get up. Richard opened his eyes and smiled. He had heard her telling Deline about Duo. If she was anything like he remembered her, Duo would soon be wide awake. That girl seemed to never sleep, and although she stayed up late, she could be the first person up if she wanted to be. But if she didn't, everyone might as well go back to sleep before trying to wake her up when she was tired! She could be just plain dangerous when she wanted to.  
  
Instead of running into Duo's room, Eschaton ran to get something out of her bag: Her c.d. player. Checking it to make sure she had a c.d., she began laughing softly to herself. Quietly sneaking into Duo's room, she stooped to pick up the pillow. She crept to the side of his bed and put her c.d. player next to his head. Pressing the on button, she raised the pillow as high above her head as she could. As the first notes of 'If you like Pina Coladas' rang out, she shouted "Wake up!" and brought the pillow crashing onto his head.  
  
Duo was laying quietly in bed. He had heard Eschaton shouting for Richard to get up. He knew she would be back, so he decided to get ready for her. She ran past his room and was back at his door in a few seconds. He heard a stifled giggle. Duo closed his eyes as the door slowly and softly clicked open. He knew she would probably pick the pillow up, so he waited for her to come close to his bed. She set something down right next to his ear and Duo heard a click and the sound of a c.d. beginning to turn. He heard the whoosh of air as the pillow came flying towards him and the loud first notes of 'If you like Pina Coladas.' Quickly rolling off of the opposite side of the bed and leaping off, he jumped on Eschaton, picked her up by the waist, and threw her onto his shoulder, accompanied by her surprised squeak of dismay. He turned off the c.d. player and picked it up with his other hand. After a few shrieked death threats and angry kicks, she went into a sulky silence, tail lashing angrily, as she was carried ignominiously down the stairs. As they neared the kitchen, she announced with as much dignity and solemnity as she muster, "I got him up."  
  
Richard looked over, and when he saw her glaring face, began to laugh. "Duo, I think you should put her down. The last person to carry her when she didn't want to be carried ended up in the hospital, and that was only because she was seven years old. She's gotten a little stronger now." Duo carefully lowered her down onto the floor and gave her the c.d. player. When he let go of her, she looked up into his eyes and glared for a moment, then grinned as she turned and asked if she could have something to eat. "Eat?" Steven muttered incredulously, "She's already eaten enough to feed me for a day!" Deline looked over at him severely, eyeing his plate, which was crammed full of food. He followed her gaze and gave a small sheepish smile, and promptly went back to eating.  
  
Duo gave her another glance as she was eating. He wondered to himself how she could be so light and yet eat so much. But she was fastidiously polite, always offering a portion to the others present before taking her fill. Although she did steal a slice of toast from Richard's plate, replacing it with her own, which had gotten some jelly on it. Richard had been looking away, but it was easy to see that he knew, and that she knew that he knew, and…etcetera. Richard merely added a bit more jelly to the toast and began eating it as Eschaton ate the slice of plain bread. She did not eat fast, but was done sooner than the others, rinsing her plate off in the sink and placing it into the dishwasher. Deline, upon seeing this, gave Steven another look, to which he replied by studying the bite of food on his fork before putting it into his mouth and chewing it appreciatively. Murmuring her thanks and excusing herself, Eschaton quickly walked out of the room to gather her things and change from her baggy pajamas into her uniform.  
  
She was dressed in an amazingly fast time, inhumanly fast, as Duo thought, if Deline was used as an example. That woman could take three hours just deciding whether or not to wear normal shoes or sandals. After Duo had packed up the few things he needed, he, Eschaton, and Richard walked off towards the A Priori's crash site. They kept a look out for the tall rocks that marked it. All three had been walking in silence, but as they neared the rocks, Eschaton and Duo began talking about what had happened the night before. As Duo and Eschaton were talking, Richard said goodbye, explaining that he had decided to wait and go with the A Priori.  
  
"Well," sighed Eschaton. "I see they've decided to take their time. If I didn't know them, I would call each and every one les incompétent, but since I do, I'd say Moose had gotten the mobile suit stuck in the doors, AGAIN, and Havoc had to help get her out with a minor explosion, AGAIN, and Slade had to take her place as a pilot while Moose was put into the shuttle…AGAIN." Duo looked at her in confusion. "'Havoc', 'Slade'? Who are they?" Jumping up onto the highest rock, Eschaton looked around impatiently. Seeing nothing, she jumped down, landing on her feet next to Duo, she answered. "Havoc and Slade are another two of my friends. Havoc is a pyromaniac in my opinion, and Slade is practically a pincushion with all of the different knives and swords she has. Havoc is pretty much the detonations expert around here, handling whatever needs to be blown up, down, sideways, or in Moose's case, out. That girl has a love for all things on fire, especially if she causes the fire. But I DID design my blasting cards," she clicked something hidden on her belt and carefully pulled a card, the nine of diamonds, out of the small compartment.  
  
Holding it up for a moment, she threw it with accuracy and startling speed at a fist-sized stone. There was a small explosion, and the stone was completely gone, there was not even any visible dust from the rock. Duo looked on in amazement. She had been playing solitaire with those very cards on the day she had told him about herself! She seemed to know what he was thinking. "Don't worry, I know how to use them, I'm basically the only person I know of who can touch them without setting them off." "I don't understand, how could you do that? And why can't anyone else do it?" Duo was visibly confused. Eschaton laughed uncertainly, then fell into silence, studying her hands. They were small and a creamy tan color, with ebony black stripes seeming to cut into them. Her fingers, when held in a normal position, were slightly curved, making her look as though she were preparing to take hold of something, like a ball. She straightened them, and her short black fingernails lengthened and curved, becoming long black claws. She sighed and put her hands down. "Its because of my hands. They're more sensitive to heat, pressure, and texture than other humans. Once again, my tiger DNA." She looked away sadly. Why couldn't she just be a normal human being? She sometimes hated herself, hated the monster she was, the beast she could become. She could never fully be accepted by anyone, not even her friends. She was just a funny creature, intelligent, but still only a strange, mutated, inhuman creature. She only wanted to be human! 


	6. Chapter six

Chapter Six: The Solar Race  
  
Duo looked at her, wishing he could think of something to say. She looked so bitter and sad about what she was, not even realizing that others could care for her for just being her, not only for being strong, agile, smart…or that others might not think of her as anything but human. Not seeming to notice him anymore, she leapt up to the top of the highest stone and sat down, her back to him, gazing blankly into the running waters of the nearby river. He just looked at her for a few minutes, then decided to tell her how he felt, but not with words. He quietly climbed up onto the rock and stood next to her. She looked up, startled: she had not even noticed his approach. He took her by the shoulders and made her stand up, then kissed her. She stiffened, obviously surprised, and just stood for a moment, then snuggled up closer to him and kissed back. He stood straighter and grinned when he saw the results: she looked both very surprised and very happy. "I love you for just being you. You're my Nekomon, and don't you ever forget it!" Slightly bewildered, but completely ecstatic, she replied, "Well, I guess I most certainly am your Nekomon, but if anyone else calls me that, they die!"  
  
Duo jumped down off of the rock, admittedly landing harder than he had meant to, stumbling slightly. He held up a hand to help her down, but she lightly leapt down, landing beside him. She had a mischievous gleam in her eyes and her tail was lashing slightly. He grinned. She was as independent as ever, but that was one reason he cared about her so much. They sat down together, leaning against the rock. They didn't speak, they only looked into each other's eyes, communicating in silence. After a while, Eschaton closed her eyes and put her head onto his shoulder. They sat there, waiting, until both fell into a light sleep. The sound of a skimmer and two mobile suits landing woke them up. Eschaton leapt to her feet and had to steady herself by waving her arms. She was startled by the sudden sound. Duo laughed when he saw her jump up. "You need to calm down a little! You almost fell over when you jumped up!" Acting as though she hadn't heard him, she leapt to the top of the rock, striking a regal pose, head held high and long braid flowing in the wind. "I am calm, in fact, I meant to do that." Duo couldn't help but laugh again. She WAS like a cat! He reached up and grabbed her ankle, causing her to fall and caught her, cradling her in his arms like a small child. "I think you just woke me up again. Do you want to eat some more breakfast?" He easily hefted her to his shoulder and started to walk towards the city. She began kicking her legs angrily and shrieking death threats. "Ooooh! I'm going to really get you! I'm serious, now PUT ME DOWN!!!" Duo smiled as he turned around, still having death threats being shouted at him. He began carrying her towards the mobile suits when a girl with long black brown hair and dark blue eyes sprinted up. As soon as she saw him carrying Eschaton, she screeched in laughter, almost falling over. "Tarantula!!! Will you get this, this, this PERSON off of me? Wait, I mean, get me off of him, no, I mean…OOOOH JUST GET ME RIGHT NOW!" Duo set her down and she ran off towards the mobile suits, shouting, "Last one there is the co-pilot!" As she passed the rocks, she stopped dead in her tracks. She was staring at one of the mobile suits.  
  
It looked like it was made of liquid mercury. It had large liquid mercury dragon-like wings and attached in between the wings was a long whip, like in the Epyon, but once again made of the strange silver material. It held one main weapon, a gigantic flame red double headed scythe. But if I know Nekomon, thought Duo, there will probably be more than one hidden weapon. She turned back to speak to Tarantula. "You said it would take three months for Dark Phoenix to be completed, but it's ready now. How did that happen?" Tarantula grinned in a knowing manner before replying. "When Peter heard about A Priori, he made everybody drop everything and everyone finished it. Your mobile suit awaits, Eschaton." Eschaton slowly walked towards Dark Phoenix, her tail twitching excitedly. When she reached her mobile suit, she stood still for a moment, judging the height of her first jump, then leaping and grabbing a projecting piece of her mobile suit, swung herself up acrobatically to the main cockpit entrance. She grinned and waved to Duo and Tarantula before turning back to the mobile suit. "Heya, Phoenix, open up already!" The cockpit swung open. It was empty, but she wasn't confused. Duo decided she would explain it to him later. He watched her jump into the cockpit. The instrumentation was different, very different, from any mobile suit Duo had ever seen. Putting what looked like a headband on her head, she placed her hands on what seemed to be a simple joystick, but when touched, it glowed, causing the mobile suit to become brighter than ever. Giving the joystick an experimental twist, she made Dark Phoenix execute a one handed scythe spin, making the air glow red.  
  
She took off the headband. "Hey, Duo, you want to come on up? I think there's an empty seat!" she pressed a button, another seat appeared from a panel in the back of the cockpit, and on its side were normal controls. "But first, I think I'll change the color scheme!" Tarantula had a sheepish look on her face. "Erm, Eschaton, sorry, but no one could understand the blueprints for that part. You'll have to fix it when you get to the base." Sighing, Eschaton nodded slightly, then put the headband back on, causing the Dark Phoenix to kneel on one knee and put its hand onto the ground. "Come on Duo! If you don't hurry, we'll be late for dinner! Its bad enough that we'll miss lunch!" Duo jumped onto the outstretched hand, and was quickly in the cockpit alongside Eschaton. "Hey, Tarantula! I'm going to ask you why you didn't pilot a mobile suit here when we get back, and tell Moose to get her medicine out as soon as she gets to the base: I was wounded, but it should almost be healed, still, no good in not being careful, okay? Well, I guess I'm off now. And say hey to Peter, I'm sure he's in the skimmer, otherwise, why would you look so happy?" quickly shutting the cockpit as Tarantula began yelling indignantly, Eschaton turned to Duo. She looked completely thrilled, as though she had been made the happiest she had ever been that day. Hey, of course she's happy, her mobile suit has been built and I've admitted that I love her, how much better can a day get? thought Duo smugly. "Duo, the only thing that could make this day better would be if I could test out Phoenix before we reach the base! But I can only hope, not cause." She gave him a crooked grin before taking off in the new mobile suit.  
  
The mobile suit's wings formed a protective shell around it as it burst through the Earth's atmosphere. The wings unfolded, and they were in the cold blackness of space. The radio crackled. "Eschaton, this is Peter, where are you?" Eschaton sighed and answered. "Heya Peter, this is Eschaton. I'm in space, on the way to the base, and I can't see your face, and you won't see mine, cuz I'm on they way and if I stop, won't make it in time! And yeah, I know it rhymes. I want you to stay until Richard and the shuttle are ready to go, and tell Ignition and Raven to stay too, I want to test the Phoenix, and I will fight if I get the chance. So I want to be here without anyone else to worry about, ok? Oh, and tell Slade and Havoc to stay with the others. If there is an attack on the shuttle or skimmer, both mobile suits will be needed." "How did you know Slade and Havoc came?" stuttered Peter. Eschaton grinned and winked. "I just had a feeling." Peter's voice came once again and agreed to wait for Peter and the shuttle. Eschaton turned off the radio, and the silver Phoenix flew through space towards the sun. Duo glanced over at Eschaton's face. She looked calm, even if a little excited. But he wondered why they would be going towards sun. She looked over at him, interpreting his glance. "Our base is in an old natural satellite of the Sun. It was once a meteor, but we found it and converted it to a high tech base, practically self- supporting, and almost impossible to find with radar. And since its near the sun, its difficult to find with heat seekers; the sun always attracts them." Phoenix swooped and spun, twirling, dodging, gliding, performing barrel-rolls and other aerobatic stunts. Eschaton seemed to be testing the maneuverability of the Phoenix. She smiled to herself, the Phoenix aced the test!  
  
The radar gave a sudden blip, then another and another. Shapes began appearing all around the Phoenix. Bright blasts of energy hurtled towards it. The Phoenix's wings closed around it, deflecting the blasts. "Well Nekomon, I think you'll be getting your wish to test out your new mobile suit, just don't break it." Eschaton looked as though she were having to stop herself from jumping up and down in her seat and screaming with laughter. Hardly able to control her glee, she tried to answer Duo, but failed, freeing a screech of laughter.  
  
She finally managed to nod, then looked into the monitor and narrowed her eyes, choosing one target. Twin Flame, the double-headed scythe, twirled in the Phoenix's hand, and the long whip sailed in a silver arc towards the nearest mobile suit, pulling it in to the red sweep of Twin Flame. Before it could even get a shot off, the mobile suit was destroyed, its pilot not even having time to realize what was happening. The other two mobile suits flew outside of the range of her whip, firing energy beams towards her. She activated the proton shield, and the Dark Phoenix was surrounded by a bright blue glow. When struck, the blue glow turned green momentarily. Eschaton maneuvered the Phoenix towards the two mobile suits, closing in on them. They tried to escape, but she had once again set her sights upon one of them, following it closely until she was near enough to swing the whip. Not even bothering to bring the mobile suit to her, she pressed a button the moment before the mobile suit was hit, charging the whip with energy. One hit was enough. The Scorpio was demolished. The final Scorpio gave up trying to escape and sped towards her. She switched off the energy scythe and held no weapon in her hands. Or did she? Appearing from a slot in the Phoenix's clawed hands, two flaming projectiles sliced through the mobile suit, completely destroying it. The Phoenix was not even scratched up in the least, and Eschaton turned to Duo, a look of pure elation pasted on her face.  
  
"That was quick." Remarked Duo nonchalantly. But he was proud of her. It was one thing to do that in a mobile suit you were used to, but in a brand new unheard of mobile suit, even if you DID design it, it was nearly impossible. She nodded her head, not speaking. Facing the monitor once more, she set an autopilot course for the base. She yawned. Duo had forgotten how late she had stayed up, and the fact that she had been shot. He himself wasn't tired. He had gotten plenty of sleep the night before. He had no way of knowing she had stayed up three hours longer than any of them getting her things ready. He put his arm around her, and she leaned once more against his shoulder, closing her eyes and falling asleep almost instantly, making a very small sound reminiscent of purring, her tail twitching slightly. Duo smiled slyly to himself. She was more catlike than she thought. Only a cat would fall asleep after destroying three mobile suits in less than two minutes, especially if her head was leaning on her boyfriends shoulder, but he didn't care. She was still Nekomon, and that was it for that.  
  
They reached the base a few hours later, and she woke up, looking as tired as ever, then rubbed her shoulder. Duo looked over, seeing that the wound on her shoulder looked slightly feverish. "Hey, Duo, could you pass me my backpack? I think I still have some of Moose's medicine in the tube." She dug through the bag and pulled out a small flat tube, squeezing it futilely. It was empty. She sighed as she turned off the autopilot and maneuvered into the space doors of the base. She lightly jumped down, and Duo followed suit, landing much softer than he did last time owing to the decreased gravity. A young woman of about 20 ran up to them. She was taller than Nekomon, but shorter than Duo by about an inch. Her reddish- brown, curly hair fell to her waist, almost completely covering the broadsword strapped to the back of her creamy peasant-style shirt. On the waist of her faded denim jeans, she wore a gun belt, with an old-west style revolver resting in the holster. She opened her mouth and spoke, her strong feminine voice cutting through the air. "Thou art thine own brand of fool, Lady Eschaton. Whilst thou and thy friend accompany me on my journey to the medical ward? Thy look to be quite peaked." Duo's jaw dropped open at the antiquated speech emanating from the young woman's mouth. Eschaton nudged him with her left elbow, answering in the woman's antiquated mode of speaking. "Lady Rhiannon Aileen Deschain, whilst thou meet my companion, Sir Duo Maxwell of Earth? This young knight saved mine life when I was lying grievously injured midst the ruins of A Priori. As to thy comment; when the glorious time of healing arrives, thou whilst meet mine answer on the tip of my sword point, in friendly combat. Dost thou accept this challenge?" bowing deeply, Rhiannon answered in the affirmative. Returning her bow, Eschaton added in normal speech. "Then I think Duo and I will follow you to the medical ward. Lead on Rhia!" They followed the briskly walking young woman, Duo asking whispered questions of Eschaton. "Hey, Nekomon, I don't remember meeting any girls who ever talked like that. What's WITH her?" Smiling slightly, Eschaton seemed to peer inside of her mind for a moment, remembering. "I can't really tell you. I met her soon after the abbey was attacked." She frowned for a moment at the memory of the abbey before continuing.  
  
"To tell you the truth, I literally ran into her while I was taking a walk under the trees. She drew her sword and gun, while I just extended my claws. We would have fought, but when she saw I was prepared to fight her with only my "slight hands" as she called them, she holstered her gun and sheathed her sword, asking me what my business was. I too sheathed my claws and told her what had happened. She helped me by finding people who would join. You might say she was the first female member, other than me of course. From what she's said, I'd say her uncle was Merlin, her mother was a healer, and her father was the last of the true gunslingers left in the west. And it seems that she doesn't really trust men too much. She must think you're special, either that or noticed that I like you, otherwise, she would have challenged you to a duel and embarrassed you soundly. She's pretty good with swords, one of the best. In fact, I'd say Slade was the true equal to her in sword skill. And Sage is the only person I know who could draw to match her. But she has a temper to match mine, and when she gets mad, can kind of lose her cool."  
  
They reached the medical ward and Eschaton pulled up her sleeve, allowing Rhia to probe the wound lightly with her finger. She touched a small bump, causing Eschaton to blink her eyes quickly. Although she never made a sound about her pain, Duo had learned to read her body language, and that blink registered plenty of pain. "Thou art the child of luck, my friend. This wound of thine own has but the smallest of shards from a bullet in it. How didst this wound come to be?" Duo launched into the story. By the time he was through telling it, he heard the sound of a skimmer, two mobile suits, and a shuttle landing. There was the sound of running feet, then as the steps were but a few yards from the door, the sound of someone tripping and a low scream of surprise. A girl about the same height of Duo rolled into the room, slamming into a cabinet with a ton of medicine inside of it. The cabinet shuddered, and the bottles inside of it almost broke and fell, but due to some sort of insane luck, the girl managed to save the only bottle that fell, setting it on the table next to Eschaton. She had a low voice, short chin-length brownish blonde hair, and was extremely thin. "I see you managed to get hurt again. What is it this time?" Rhia described the wound to the girl, and Duo guessed this girl was Moose. She quickly set to work, and had dug out the bullet shard with very little blood by the time Duo looked over at Eschaton. She bandaged the wounded arm proficiently. "Is this better Eschaton?" she asked, backing away and holding the piece of bullet in her hand, then tripping over her own feet and falling into yet another cabinet full of medicine, made completely of glass this time.  
  
The glass shattered and chemicals went flying everywhere, some of them forming a puddle on the floor. Moose was lying sprawled out on her stomach, her face almost in the puddle of mixed chemicals. She sniffed and sneezed. Her eyes lit up, and she jumped up, nearly falling again as she reached for a flat dish and an eyedropper, taking some of the chemicals from the puddle and placing it inside. She leapt up, placing the dish under a microscope and looking into it for a few moments, then she grabbed an empty syringe and walked towards Eschaton. Eschaton's back was turned towards her and she was talking to Rhia. Without even saying anything, she quickly drew some blood from Eschaton, causing her to jump in surprise and utter a few choice words in a surprised shout. Putting the blood in the flat dish with the chemical mixture, she peered once more into the microscope, waiting for a few moments. The blood turned from red to blue. "I DID IT! I DID IT!" Moose was jumping up and down excitedly, and Eschaton reached out with her arm, preventing yet another fall. "What did you do, you crazy vampire?" grumbled Eschaton.  
  
A black and red caped figure slowly paced through the door. She had pale skin and long black hair down to the backs of her knees. She turned towards Eschaton, her red eyes…Red eyes? Looking deep into Eschaton's eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, and Duo noticed that her teeth were like fangs. "Vat do you mean, young cat? Who is a crazy vampire? I am ze only vampire avound here." Rhia answered, her voice annoyed. "Thou art naught but a young fool, Ririku. Thou art no such creature. Whilst thou accept thy fate as naught but a human being?" Ririku began to grumble, but had trouble speaking. She spat out her plastic fangs and began to shout. "What? I am too a vampire! I'm not normal!" "Aye, thou art strange, no mistake. But how couldst thou be of the night whilst thou prowl the day? And thy own fangs art naught but of an uncouth material called plastic. Surely thou art not so foolish as to believe in thine own childish dreams?"  
  
Meanwhile, Nekomon was shouting at Moose. "Did you ASK to take some of my blood? NOOOOOO! I didn't! And what did you just accomplish? Well, aren't you going to tell me? I think I have a right to know, I AM the one you stole the blood from!" Moose was still jumping up and down in her excitement. Without answering, she opened up another cabinet and pulled out some more chemicals. Making a green mixture and putting it into another flat dish, she took some of the blue concoction and put it in the green mess of chemicals. The mixture turned red. Moose was elated. "I'll tell you what I did! I just created something that will make you into a human for a short time! And I also created the reversal for it! Now, you can just drink one to become human, and in about twenty four hours, well, I think twenty four hours, and the other one you can drink to immediately revert back to your original form! I'm a genius, a pure genius! MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!" she threw back her head and cackled insanely.  
  
Eschaton didn't even look surprised. "I had always known you could do it. I'm just surprised it took you that long to do it." Moose didn't care about her sarcastic tone, she was happy. It was then that Moose seemed to realize something. "Hey, Eschaton! The medicine case scenario! It just became the medicine case incident! You were right!" When Duo looked at Eschaton, he could tell she was happy. "Nekomon, this is just about the happiest I've seen you! Now how could you be happy about changing the way you look? I think you look perfect the way you look right now!" Tarantula had just walked into the room and heard him saying this. She jumped and looked at Eschaton gleefully. "Ooo-ooooh, hi NEKOMON!" Eschaton's head whipped back and her tail lashed angrily as she slowly turned towards Tarantula. She emitted a low growl, but suddenly stopped and gave Tarantula a wicked grin, slowly walking towards Tarantula, making no sound as she stepped closer and closer. Tarantula began to back away. Eschaton stopped walking and gave a wild yell, pouncing at Tarantula and swiping at her with claws extended. Tarantula shrieked in terror and ran out of the room. She looked back to see if Eschaton was following her, then ran into Peter, knocking him down and landing on top of him. Squeaking in surprise, Tarantula leapt up an stuttered her apologies as she ran through the hall, disappearing as she ducked into a side hallway.  
  
Eschaton was NOT following her. She was sitting on the edge of the table, giving her claws a nonchalant lick before she sheathed them once more. Moose, Ririku, Rhia, and Duo were practically shouting in laughter when Peter stumbled into the room, looking extremely confused and extremely funny with his hair sticking out all over the place. "What HAPPENED?" he spluttered, then glared at Eschaton. "I have a feeling you had something to do with it, whatever it was." Eschaton smiled sweetly at him, telling him that it was Tarantula who had run into him. When Peter heard this, he hurriedly walked out of the room in the direction that Tarantula had run. Eschaton began laughing uncontrollably, then rolled off the table she was sitting on with a squeak, managing to land in a crouch, rolling over onto her back and laughing some more. Duo couldn't help but smile. That girl loved to laugh! 


	7. Chapter seven

Chapter Seven: What Goes Around Comes Around  
  
They had been at the base for a week. Duo spent his time trying to contact the other Gundams and Eschaton spending her time working on a thousand things at once. In the duel with Rhia, she had managed to disarm her friend, being disarmed at the same time. Duo could tell that both were highly proficient in the use of swords, one using a broadsword, the other using a thin bright katana. In the end, Eschaton managed to defeat her friend, but was very tired; Rhia knew how to handle a broadsword like no other, and she was also good at hand to hand fighting without a weapon.  
  
The day after her epic duel with Rhia, Eschaton helped Richard look the part of an escaped prisoner by first working out with him, then using the Dark Phoenix to almost annihilate the mobile suit he was to use when returning to the lunar base of the Sons of Darkness. When Richard stumbled out of the training room, he looked the part of an escaped prisoner who had barely managed to escape. After briefly saying goodbye to his friends, Richard headed off towards the base, with a story telling of how he had escaped from the Black Stars in their base near the Sahara Desert. Apparently, it worked, because he sent a message a few days later telling of how he had been welcomed back with honors. But the base near the Sahara had been attacked, or, almost attacked: it had been found, but appeared to have been destroyed when Richard escaped and there was a threat of being found by the Sons of Darkness.  
  
Duo had met many of her friends, finding some more humorous than others. For example; one of the prettiest girls Duo had ever seen, a blonde named Angeline, was completely distrustful of him, and one of the funniest people Duo had ever had the opportunity to meet, an outgoing girl named Ignition, immediately made him one of her best friends. He learned to get along with the strange quirks in Eschaton's friends, although there were a few tense moments with Rhia. Rhia didn't seem to distrust him for himself, she seemed to distrust him for being Eschaton's boyfriend. Duo couldn't understand why she acted like this, but he didn't care. As long as she didn't cause any trouble, he could put up with her dark looks.  
  
She had corrected the problem with her mobile suit and had helped Moose test the new chemical combination she had created; she was, after all, the only person the chemicals would work on. The chemicals worked perfectly. But the most important thing she was working on was a plan for getting Wufei out of prison. Her laptop was constantly on, and she was working with the sim to familiarize herself more with the controls on the Phoenix. Duo worked with her in the sims. She had explained to him that he would work with her in the Phoenix until the new Deathscythe was built. "New Deathscythe?" Duo was completely confused at this new development. He had no idea they were going to build new Gundams for the Gundam pilots. She gave him a look that said, 'What, did you think you were going to fight without a mobile suit?' He laughed as he interpreted her look. She was always very expressive with her face, tail, eyes, ears…she knew how to get her feelings across without saying a word.  
  
Eschaton didn't admit it, but she was truly worried when Duo could not contact Heero. He had been able to contact both Trowa and Quatre, but no one had any idea where Heero had gone. Eschaton had an idea. It was risky, but worth a try. She suggested sending out a radio message near Miss Rellena's home. It would transmit for about a one hundred mile radius. The message would be for Heero, telling him about the Black Stars and where to go to meet someone who would take him to the Black Star base. It was decided that Eschaton and Duo would meet Heero in a secluded valley near the Academy where Miss Rellena was. Duo and Eschaton recorded the message together. The message told him to meet them there at the next full moon. There would be a mobile suit waiting for him there.  
  
When the night of the full moon arrived, Duo and Eschaton were practically camped out in the deepest part of the valley. Duo thought the Dark Phoenix would be too bright, easily seen by anyone. But once again, Eschaton surprised him with her ingenuity. The Dark Phoenix was fully capable of camouflaging itself. With a few clicks and verbal commands, Eschaton had changed the bright liquid mercury color into a dark green, with the shadows blending in perfectly with dark spots on the Phoenix. Not even bothering to say anything, Eschaton just jumped from the Phoenix onto the ground, curling up at the foot of a large tree and seemed to fall asleep almost instantly. Duo climbed down from the cockpit and sat down beside Eschaton, stroking her hair lightly with his hand. He thought about how much she enjoyed sleeping, stealing a few minutes sleep whenever she had the chance. Eschaton's head shot up after about ten minutes. "Nekomon, what's wrong? Did you hear something?" Eschaton put a finger to her lips, motioning him to be quite. "I think your friend might be here, but I want to get the drop on him. Who knows, I might even literally get the drop on him! I'm going to climb up that tree over there." She scampered off towards a tall pine tree with a branch about six feet off the ground. Quickly measuring her jump with a practiced eye, she made a strong leap and swung herself up into the tree, climbing upwards into the thicker foliage of the pine tree.  
  
Duo spent a few minutes sitting on the ground before he heard a click. It was the sound of a hammer being cocked on a gun. A dark form materialized, leaning against a tree nearby. He heard a cold, flat voice. "I always knew I'd have the bad luck to see you again. What do you want with me, and it had better be worth my time, there was something really good on TV, and you annoy me even more now than you ever did." Heero put the gun down and smiled quietly at the stunned look on Duo's face. "What, did you honestly think I was going to kill you?" Duo smiled weakly. "You've tried it before. But this isn't polite, you're keeping Nekomon waiting." He looked up into the sky and cupped his hands over his mouth before shouting, "Hey, Nekomon, you can go ahead and come down!"  
  
Eschaton's phantom-like shadow slithered down the tree, stopping about ten feet from the ground. Heero swung a flashlight towards her, highlighting her smiling face for a moment before she jumped, landing in a crouch with her fingertips lightly touching the ground. Duo walked over to her, putting his arm around her and pulling her closer to him. She grinned at Heero. "Well hello there, Heero Yuy. I am Eschaton. Formerly destined to be a Gundam. But I don't believe we've met, have we?" Heero's eyes widened momentarily before he answered her. "No, we haven't met, but I remember hearing something about a sixth pilot when I first became a Gundam. I just didn't know you would be so, uh, feminine. But why does Duo call you Nekomon?" Eschaton looked over at Duo, grinning.  
  
"I'm the only one allowed to call her that. One of her friends called her that, and ended up running down the hallway and mowing down the leader of the Black Stars. So I would suggest not calling her that unless you have a death wish. But other than that , I'd say she is pretty easy to get along with. Will you hurry up already? We've been here too long already. We were followed on the way here, but Nekomon managed to destroy the Scorpio before the Dark Phoenix was damaged." Heero directed the flashlight once again at Eschaton, revealing her full form. She was dressed in baggy black jumpsuit, the sleeves and legs rolled up a bit. The silver gleam of the thick, flat belt flashed in the light beam, highlighting the black coiled whip at her waist. She wasn't wearing shoes, so her paw like feet were revealed. Her stripes and tail were fully evident, and Duo could tell Heero was startled when he saw her eyes glowing in the beam of the flashlight.  
  
"Whoa, hold on. Who, or what, is Dark Phoenix?" Eschaton answered this. "Phoenix is my mobile suit. But don't worry, you'll be getting your own mobile suit soon, I just need you to put the finishing touches on the blueprints. Now hurry up, I…" she stopped suddenly, grabbing the flashlight and turning it off, motioning them to be silent as she was grabbing it. As Duo's eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, he could see that Eschaton was standing tensely, her nose in the air, mouth slightly open, tail tip just barely twitching. She began to whisper. "Heero, I think you might have been followed. Don't tell me about how you were careful. The Sons of Darkness are very good when it comes to this type of stalking. They know how to be silent. Damn it all, I knew they're was a chance of this when I sent the radio message, but I just hoped it wouldn't happen. Duo, take Heero to Phoenix. About three feet from the ground in the outer side of the right leg is a door, remember? Knock on it lightly and tell Phoenix to let you in, and then lock the door. Take Heero to the auxiliary seat in the cockpit, you know the one I mean, the third seat. But if you don't want to get inside of Phoenix, stay out here, but stay near Phoenix and make sure none of our friends try to take her. She can be pretty wild if I'm not piloting her. Sometimes I think she has a mind of her own."  
  
Eschaton slunk off into the night, uncoiling the whip at her side and pulling out two of the throwing stars, holding both of the stars in her left hand. Heero heard the sound of a twig cracking, then of leaves crunching beneath feet. "Duo, what type of person is this girl. She looks too light to be making that much noise. And do you think she'll be ok? If someone was following me, they'll just grab her." Duo grinned slightly before answering. "That's not her. She wouldn't even be making a leaf rustle, much less breaking twigs. She's genetically altered, her DNA was combined with tiger DNA, making her catlike. She's also my girlfriend. But I feel sorry for anyone who grabs her when she doesn't want to be grabbed. She lets me get away with it, but the last time I got a small scratch. I surprised her when she was sleeping." He smiled at the memory.  
  
They heard a loud CRACK! of a whip, then another, and a shout of surprise. The sound of a gun going off and a muffled shriek split the night air. The thudding noise of running feet came nearer and nearer. Two men burst through the clearing, looking back as though they had left the devil behind them. They spotted Duo and Heero, looking at each other and smiling as they drew their guns. Duo was worried about Eschaton. Had they killed her? He wasn't about to stand there and wait to find out. He jumped towards the men, getting winged on the shoulder and knocking one down and trying to strangle the other, getting hit on the back of his head by the fallen man.  
  
He must have blacked out temporarily, because when he looked up, he saw that Heero was being covered by one of the men, and he by the other. He moved his hand to rub his bleeding shoulder, but was stopped by the gun man's revolver muzzle. "I don't think so. You think you can attack a son of darkness and get away with it? No, you can't, and you'll die for attempting it, just like a crazy woman did a while ago when she whipped two of our men. The god damn bitch, she broke their necks with a damn piece of rawhide! You know what? I think you were with the bitch, and I think I'll break all of the bones in your body before I kill you!" The angry man dropped the revolver and grabbed Duo's arm, twisting it painfully behind his back. Duo pushed him away with his free arm, kicking him in the back of the knees, causing him to fall. The man picked up his revolver, motioning for Duo to sit with Heero on the ground, making it easier to guard them. "Who cares about orders! I say we kill them now!" "Agreed," said the second man. "In fact, I'll let you get the priest and I'll get the other." They aimed their guns when an enraged shout slashed through the night air.  
  
"Yo, Dust brains! Ya want I should kill ya now, or lata? Or perhaps kill one a ya now, and the utha lata? Yeah, that'd make a now an' lata!" Eschaton jumped through a clearing, blood streaming from her chest. She added in normal speech. "But, my finely feathered fowl foolish friends, I believe I shall kill you now. No one shoots me and gets away with it." She moved her left arm as though she were throwing a frisbee, throwing the two stars at the two men, striking each in the throat before they had time to pull the triggers on their guns. Eschaton limped over, her right arm held over the wound in her chest, just above the left clavicle. She bent over painfully and took the two stars from the men's throats and cleaning them on one of the men's jackets. She took the other man's jacket, putting it on and shivering slightly. She turned, trying to straighten so she would walk, but fell, the energy seeming to drain out of her.  
  
Duo ran towards her, helping her up and trying to help her to walk towards the Phoenix. It wasn't easy, the effort of running through the tree covered valley and killing the two men had completely taken all of her energy. She mumbled something about what had happened. "Only saw two…wasn't careful…other two surprised me…one shot me, got his jacket…think my clavicle's broken, dunno, can't tell, but it hurts like hell. Can't believe how stupid I was…never done something like that before…damn…this annoys me more than it hurts me." Heero turned on the flashlight and could see how pale she looked.  
  
"Stop trying to show off Nekomon, I know it hurts, feel free to cry of whine or something. It'll hurt less." Eschaton looked up angrily, snorting in indignation at the advice. "Whining like THAT is for cowards, same as screaming, and I'm no coward, so I don't do that…GOT IT!? And DON'T PICK ME UP!" her eyes were narrowed dangerously, but Duo ignored her protests and picked her up, cradling her like a small child, carrying her to the hidden door in the Phoenix. "Open up Phoenix, this is Duo, and this is an emergency, so no funny business." A large door slid open, allowing Duo and Heero to walk inside, and in Eschaton's case, allowing her to be carried inside. Eschaton, although she had attempted to wriggle out of his hands, seemed to allow herself to relax in Duo's arms, then noticed the blood oozing out of the wound in his arm. "Duo, you shouldn't be carrying me with your arm like that! Put me down this instant! I'm perfectly capable of walking!"  
  
Ignoring her, Duo verbally told the Phoenix to set an autopilot course for the base, and to stay as hidden as possible. The color panel on the side of the monitor changed from its dark green with shadow markings to a deep black with bright dots; it looked like space. In the Phoenix's midriff, there was a small medical chamber, with an IV, some medicines, bandages, and a small bed against the wall. Duo gently laid Eschaton on the bed, strapping her to it as the Phoenix took off into the night. The Phoenix was set to travel at a high speed and was to arrive at the base in a few hours. "I don't have any way to know how bad you're injured until we get back to the base. It looks like you'll just have to sit tight. Sorry Nekomon." Eschaton wriggled uncomfortably, hardly able to move under the various straps tying her down. Grumbling slightly, she answered, "It looks like I have no choice BUT to sit tight. Don't worry, I'll be fine. It was just a little bit of shock a few minutes ago. But you shouldn't have carried me with your arm like that!" Duo took off his black, priest collared over shirt, revealing that the white shirt that he always wore under it had blood on the left sleeve. Covering her with the black over shirt, he pulled out a small chair from the wall, sitting down next to her and holding his left hand to the wound on his right arm.  
  
Heero watched a bit uncomfortably. He would never admit it to anyone that he was upset about Duo and Eschaton's injuries, least of all to Eschaton or Duo. If he had been more careful, they wouldn't have followed him, and neither of them would have been shot. She seemed to be different, and Heero wasn't only thinking about the tail. He was thinking about how readily she had gone off to find the followers, and how she had come back as soon as she could to help them. A while back, he might have just stayed away to heal his wounds, but she had come back. She coughed softly, then said, "Heero, don't think it was your fault. They would have followed you, no matter how careful you were, they would have been able to find you. And if you were too careful, they may have killed you. They've even followed me before, but I was captured that time. That's basically when I earned the nickname Eschaton. But to make a long story short; they're getting too good." She turned her head to the side and her shallow breathing became a bit longer. She had fallen into a deep sleep.  
  
Duo and Heero didn't say another word throughout the trip. It passed uneventfully. When they arrived at the base, Duo tried to wake up Eschaton, but she had fallen too deeply asleep. Giving up, he carried her to the medical ward, Heero following behind, trying with all of his might not to look guilty. It worked, but barely. Rhia came running up, worry in her voice and accusation in her eyes. "What hast thou done to my friend? How hast she been so grievously injured? Hasten to follow me, the Lady Moose whilst aid her in her time of need. Thou one of silence, stay here and wait for mine friend, the Lady Raven. Mine friend shalt lead thee to a place of rest and give thee refreshments. Come knave and answer for thyself to my lady's friends!" Eschaton didn't even here this.  
  
Three hours later, Duo was waiting outside of the O.R. with a highly disgruntled Rhia and a highly bandaged arm, the work of Tarantula before she had been called in to help Moose. Rhia had been sent out for trying to behead Moose. Duo had heard her shouting, "Thou foul knave, traitorous wretch! Thou hast caused my lady pain! Whilst thou fight me or die?" Duo was called in by an angry Moose to take Rhia out of the room. He did, but was nearly beheaded with the broadsword himself when he swung her onto his shoulder. He had soundly berated her. "You idiot! Don't you realize that Moose has to hurt her to help her?" Sheathing her sword angrily, Rhia answered, her voice even colder than his. "Then, young knave, how couldst I heal wi'out causing harm, eh? Whenst thou next tries to stop me from honorable protection, thou shalt feel this blade, no matter what the lady Eschaton may say. And thou shalt not feel anything else whenst thou feels this blade!" Duo didn't speak to her again until a tired Moose walked out of the OR, leading Tarantula and Sage, who were pulling and pushing the bed that held Eschaton.  
  
"She should wake up in a few hours. What DID she do to herself? She hasn't been hurt like this in a long time!" Duo launched into the story, but was interrupted soon after he began. Eschaton had woken up sooner than anyone thought she would. "But, h-how could you wake up so fast? You should have slept for three hours!" sighing and scratching at the bandages on her left arm, Eschaton explained to her that the medicines didn't affect her as long as they did normal humans, and that Moose should remember that. Then asked if she could have something to eat. The tense situation broke up as the group dissolved in much needed laughter and Eschaton jumped off of the bed, tail twitching, nose held high, mouth slightly open, and hurriedly limped off in the direction of the nearest food.  
  
Raven had led Heero to the room where Trowa and Quatre were sitting, completing the blue prints for their mobile suits. It wasn't much of a reunion, just Quatre nodding when he saw Heero and Trowa asking him how he could be so late. Once Raven brought Heero some food, she walked out of the room and he locked the door from the inside. Secure against interruptions, or so he thought, he sat down and began to work on the plans for his new mobile suit. About two hours later, he heard a scratching sound on the door, then the metallic click of the lock being successfully picked. In bounced Eschaton, her left side almost completely swathed in bandages, pouncing on the sandwich Heero hadn't eaten. Trowa and Quatre laughed at the surprised look on Heero's face; they had gotten used to Eschaton doing things like that, he hadn't. 


	8. Chapter eight

Chapter Eight: Where oh Where has that *%$ &*$@ Wufei gone?  
  
Duo's arm had healed nicely, as had Eschaton's shoulder. Moose was a genius when it came to healing; she couldn't repair the shattered clavicle, so she replaced it with a metal alloy, the same type of metal the Dark Phoenix was made out of. Admittedly, Eschaton moved stiff for a few weeks, but she was still as good as new. A week after her injury, Moose ran a check up on her, revealing to a startled Duo that her normal resting heartbeat was one hundred thirteen: a cat's heart beats faster than a human. The only good part was her heartbeat didn't increase too much, but if it did, Moose explained the results could be dangerous, which was why Eschaton was constantly training and preparing, gradually becoming so in tuned with herself that her heartbeat stayed the same, no matter how hard she was fighting. Rhia had made a tenuous peace with the Gundam pilots, but was still distrustful of them. "She had a rough time when she was younger, so I wouldn't push it with her." Duo nodded, agreeing with Eschaton. While Eschaton could hope to defeat her in duels, most of the other people couldn't.  
  
Eschaton's plan to get Wufei out of prison was daring and dangerous. She was to allow herself to be captured, then with the help of a spy, she would get Wufei out of there, and bring both him and the spy back to the Black Star Solar base. She took some of the chemicals that Moose had created and dubbed the "Cat Girl Concoction" and the antidote. She asked Rhia to cut her hair, changing her looks significantly. Her hair was down to the backs of her knees, and she changed its color, it had become a dark red. The next day, she basically said goodbye to everyone, then preparing her clothing and hiding her cards in the bottom of her boots, she practically disappeared, not really telling anyone where she was going to start her plan. "Sorry, Duo. You know I have to go alone, but if I could, I'd take you with me. I'm going to be back shortly, don't worry. You know me, do I ever get in trouble?" Duo hugged her as she said this, then held her out at arms length, saying. "Yes, you do get in trouble, that's why I'm worried." Laughing softly, Eschaton only winked and walked away, to the old mobile suit she was going to be captured in. It was the last anyone saw of her for a very long time.  
  
  
  
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," she muttered to herself as she was attacked once again. The Leo she had used in this rescue mission was very old and very weak. She managed to escape one more attack, but the follow up almost completely decimated the old mobile suit. She opened the cockpit and jumped out, her hands raised above her head. She could only hope they didn't search her too thoroughly. The mobile suits landed next to the wreckage of the old Leo she had been using. One of the pilots, a tall man with gray eyes and white blonde hair, jumped from his Scorpio. "Stop right there! You're under arrest! Put your hands in the air!" Giving him an angry glare and wishing she could scratch him, she shouted, "My hands ARE in the air, you idiot! Or are you too blind to notice!" He ignored her sarcastic remark, speaking into his radio. "We've captured someone, but we're not too sure who she is. Do you want us to bring her in?" The voice on the intercom was smooth, cold, and feminine. "Yes, bring her in, but don't harm her. She might be the person we were looking for." Good old D, thought Eschaton fondly, I knew I could count on her! "I'm sending a transport for her and the mobile suit. Denizen will be overseeing her transportation." Eschaton's captor shuddered when he heard this statement. Denizen terrified any normal person out of their wits, and rightfully so.  
  
"Ok, you might as well sit down. I hate to say it, but I feel sorry for you. Denizen isn't very fond of people. It'll take maybe an hour for him to get here." The other Scorpio pilot got out and groaned when he heard the man named Denizen was coming. Eschaton reflected that they really did seem sorry for her. They sat in silence until the sound of a small transport ship reached their ears. The two Scorpio pilots jumped into their mobile suits. Eschaton looked at them in confusion, surely they weren't that scared of one of their own men? The transport ship landed, and a few moments later, the doors slid open. Eschaton's heart filled with cold dread when she saw the man, or was it a beast? that walked out towards her.  
  
He was a tall black man, about seven foot two, with a bright white stripe in his dull black hair. His hands looked more like claws than hands, and when he opened his mouth, she saw that his teeth were sharp and pointed. "Get over here, prisoner!" his voice was a cold hissing snarl, full of menace. "I said GET OVER HERE!" she slowly walked over to him, glad that she was using the concoction Moose had created: if she wasn't, her hands would be claws, and she would have either attacked the man or run. But she had no choice but obey him if she wanted to get Wufei out. The things I do… she thought darkly to herself.  
  
He grabbed her roughly by the arm, throwing her inside of the transport unit. She hit the wall, hurting her back. Without saying a word, the man stalked inside, closing the door with a slam and glowering down at her. She glared at him rebelliously, earning a kick and a shouted oath. The man reached inside of a box near the door, pulling out some type of inoculation gun. Smiling grimly, he moved closer to her, grabbing the back of her neck in a powerful, painful grip, then jabbing the needle into her unprotected throat. "I'm Denizen, and you are on your way to prison." She felt angry at being drugged, but the drugs didn't work the same for her as they did normal humans; she had ADHD, so they just kept her awake, although it seemed to inhibit her movements. When Denizen felt her angry glare, he turned with an angry snarl, kicking her repeatedly in the stomach. Unable to protect herself, she passed out from the pain, then woke up maybe half an hour later. She was stiff and sore, and had to be practically dragged out. The drug seemed to have paralyzed her, rendering her immobile. Denizen dragged her to the interrogation room by the shoulder, not being careful about where he was going, or what she was hitting.  
  
When she was able to move, she found that she was tied to a hard, straight-backed chair. Thankfully, Denizen was nowhere to be seen. She noticed three stern-faced guards. "Well, I don't think that Denizen guy liked me too much. Not very agreeable, is he?" Her sharp hearing detected a soft step. She looked up, expecting to see a total stranger, but inwardly sighed with relief when she realized it was only D. That was when she noticed Denizen sitting in the shadows, his black eyes seeming to glow with a deep, dark, murderous red undertone as he glared at her. She felt her heart skip a beat, and her breath caught in her throat, causing her to gulp slightly. "You're right. I don't like you. In fact, I feel as though I might hate you." Eschaton's eyes burned with rage for a moment, then she caught herself, and quickly looked meekly to the floor.  
  
D looked over at Eschaton, her skillful face not betraying any emotion at the various cuts and bruises inflicted by Denizen's iron-toed boot. She moved to the edge of the room, sitting down by herself in a corner. Denizen got up, stalking over to Eschaton until he was standing over her. She looked past him, staring doggedly at the wall, but he did not want her to do that. He backhanded her harshly, then grabbed her by the throat, forcing her to look up into his cold eyes. He squeezed her throat, causing her to gag slightly. Chuckling to himself, he asked, "Are you still unsure as to whether or not I dislike you?" yanking her head back, Eschaton glared at him, her voice dripping with deadly hatred. "No, I don't doubt it now. In fact, I now also know that I hate you. And when I get out of here, you have no chance. I'm going to kill you one of these days." She closed her mouth with a snap, flexing her fingers despite of herself, wishing she was free, if only for a moment. She was imagining his screams of pain when she attacked him. She closed her eyes for a moment, relishing the thought, then was hit once more. She spat out some blood, narrowly missing his shoe. "In fact, I hope that day comes soon."  
  
That was the last thing she said, and no amount of beating could get anything out of her. "That's enough!" barked D. "She's of no use to answer questions if she's unconscious! You, and you, take her to her cell. Make sure she's right next to the guard barracks and the control room, she won't have any chance of escape, that's the most heavily guarded area in this entire base. Hurry! I don't have all day." Denizen followed Eschaton and the two guards, glaring murder at Eschaton. The guards dragged her backwards: she refused to turn her back to the strange man, and she was intent on returning stare for glare, scowl for leer, snarl for oath. "By the fates, this girl is more like a she-wolf than a girl!" dropping her gaze for a moment to look up at the guard who had spoken, she added impudently, "Don't you mean more like a wild-cat than a girl? I get that quite a bit." Denizen shouted at her to keep silent, to which she replied, "If I stay quiet, I can't answer questions. In fact, you were hitting me a few minutes ago BECAUSE I was being quiet. Now, what is that telling me? That your group is as dysfunctional as it is stupid? Or that you just can't make up your mind for anything? I wonder…" Denizen snarled angrily, kicking her knee and causing her to gasp in pain. She didn't say another word, only glaring murder at him until she was thrown into her cell.  
  
As they walked out of the door, Eschaton pulled herself up and dashed at the door, causing it to slam on Denizen's foot. He didn't even flinch, only turning to her and saying, "You, my young foolish friend, will not live to regret that." So saying this, he turned and marched down the corridor. She sat on the floor in the back of her cell, silent tears squeezing out of her eyes. She had forgotten how stubborn they were when it came to getting information. She remembered why she had come up with this plan and chided herself for crying. But it didn't hurt to see how badly she had been injured before she thought of a way to get to Wufei.  
  
Easily slipping from the loose ropes that bound her hands, she rubbed her knee, wondering if it was twisted. She then inspected the many bruises and bumps on her body, good, nothing was broken as far as she could tell. She got up, and found that she could walk, but painfully. She spent her time looking around the room. There was a small vent about eight feet from the floor, right in the center of the room. She tried jumping, but found that the human form she was in did not allow her to jump half as high as she could when she was normal.  
  
She sighed, then remembered the vent she had been sitting under when she was being interrogated. That's it! She shouted in her mind, That's the way to get to Wufei! She quickly checked the room for signs she was being watched, berating herself for not doing that first. She saw nothing. She then pushed a button on the bottom of her shoes and drank a little of the contents from a small glass bottle. Replacing it and slipping her hands back into the ropes they had tied her with, she leaned up against the wall and allowed herself to fall asleep. Pretty much the only thing that hadn't thing that hadn't changed was her ability to sleep whenever and wherever and however she wanted to.  
  
She was woken up four hours later by D. "You're wanted for more questioning, follow me." D led her out of her cell and turned left. "The other cells are on your cell's right side, in fact, there is a dangerous prisoner at the end of the cell block, but he hasn't been guarded very well since you were captured. Denizen seems to think you're disguising yourself." Eschaton's heart convulsed when she heard this. If she was discovered…she didn't allow herself to think about what would happen to her. She walked side by side with D, being supported in case she stumbled. Although she would never have admitted it, she was glad for the support; she was still very sore. They went down a straight corridor, then made a right turn, passed two other intersections, then turned right again. Eschaton thought she saw Denizen's glowering face peer out of a door at her.  
  
D led her into the interrogation room, tying her once more to the chair. Two guards walked in, pointing guns at Eschaton so she wouldn't try to escape. Seeing that she was bound, they holstered their guns and stood, leaning against the wall and talking. Eschaton was relieved when D started the interrogations; it didn't look like Denizen was going to ask her anything. "Alright, now you have some information that I want." Eschaton swallowed then spoke, making her voice sound thin and weak. "Please, could I have some water? I can hardly speak." In truth, she was a little thirsty, but the water was all a part of her plan to get out. D nodded, motioning for the guards to bring a pitcher, glass, and towel. The two guards walked towards Eschaton, giving her a drink and carefully wiping her lips. They turned back to the table, and that was when Eschaton made her move.  
  
Jumping up and spinning around, she hit the two soldiers with the legs of the chair. They fell, and Eschaton could not tell if they were merely out cold or dead. She hit D as she turned around, knocking her over. Slipping easily from the chair, she disarmed the two guards and tied them together with the rope she had been bound with. "Sorry D, I'm going to have to leave you here for a few minutes, but don't worry, I'll be back." She climbed up onto the chair and managed to open up the vent and wriggle into it. She groaned when she saw the vent on the floor; she was planning on closing the vent after she got into it, making her escape even more of a mystery. Eschaton sat cross-legged in the vent, pushing a hidden button on her shoe. This time, the bottle was made of plastic. Drinking its contents, she smiled in satisfaction as she felt her skeleton become more limber. Strength seemed to fill her like a warm liquid, and her tail lashed boldly. She took out her contacts, and the familiar gray and colored world returned. She was a cat again!  
  
She crawled through the ventilation system, remembering the turns she had made when she was walking to the interrogation room. Aside from the air conditioner turning on and her being cold, the journey passed without incident. The cat-girl soon found herself at the end of the ventilation system in a small, dark room. Peering down into the room, she saw a black- haired figure sitting against the wall with its arms crossed and head leaning forward. "Wufei," she whispered, "Wufei, can you hear me?" the figure jolted awake, revealing a Chinese boy. "Yes, of course I can hear you. Who the hell are you and what the hell are you doing here?"  
  
Suddenly, Eschaton heard the sound of an alarm going off. "Damn it! They've found D and the two guards!" she backed away and was soon out of sight. "Wufei, just act like you have no idea what's going on! And that I'm not here!" Wufei snorted angrily. "I have no choice, I DON'T know what's going on, and as to who you are, I don't give a damn." The sound of swiftly running feet stopped further conversation. The door slammed open. "You, Gundam, get out here now! Don't just stand there, come on!" with a soft hiss, Eschaton recognized the cold snarling voice of Denizen. Wufei was yanked out of the room, and Eschaton followed him in the ventilation system, but the sound of running feet stopped, and Eschaton thought to herself, Oh great, now what? And where the hell has that idiot taken Wufei? She was soon to find out as gunshots riddled the ventilation shaft around her. 


	9. Chapter nine

Chapter Nine: Of Beasts and Men  
  
Bullets were flying all around her, and she had nowhere to go, nowhere but down. Shifting her weight, Eschaton began rocking side to side, causing the ventilation shaft to swing. It broke in less than a minute thanks to the gunshots that were riddling it. She tumbled downwards, landing on top of someone. It was Denizen! He snarled at her, his bestial features made barbarically terrifying by his rage. "I knew you weren't a human being! And now, I have the freedom to kill you!" he aimed the gun at Eschaton's face, but she slashed his hand with her claws, causing him to drop the gun. She leapt over and grabbed it before he could retrieve it. "Wufei, run! Go to the interrogation room, there's someone in there, a woman, get her and then go and get the hell out of here, now!" Wufei needed no second bidding. He hadn't been tied, so he just ran as fast as he could towards the interrogation room. Eschaton tried to shoot Denizen, but he made a scything swipe with his long clawed hands, causing her to drop the weapon. With an infuriated screech of anger, Eschaton began to attack him, snapping, scratching, biting, fighting with all of her strength and fury for the first time in her life. Denizen was taken aback for a moment, then used his superior weight and strength to throw her away from him. She wanted to attack him again, but knew that if she did, Wufei and her friend would have no chance of escaping. She ran to the control room.  
  
The door to the control room was locked. That didn't matter to her. Eschaton pulled a card, the Ace of Spades, out of her belt. She picked the lock with it, then threw it into the room. The four guards never knew what hit them. Dashing inside of the room, she slammed it shut and barricaded it with the table the men had been sitting at. She smiled grimly to herself as she pulled out the weapon she was going to use to distract the soldiers of the base. It was a c.d. Using another card, the two of hearts this time, to blow open a panel, she rewired the computer system, then opened a c.d. slot. She carefully placed the c.d. into it, then put her hands to her ears as the slot slowly closed. It was total silence for a few moments. Then, her favorite lines from 'One Step Closer' began blaring over the speakers, deafeningly loud, and repeating, over, and over, and over, and… Denizen began hurling himself against the door when he heard the noise. It was infuriating to him!  
  
Wufei glared at the young woman who was sitting calmly on the chair in the interrogation room. "Come on, hurry up! They'll be here any moment!" she smiled coldly at him. "Have you no patience? We can't go anywhere until Eschaton has provided a distraction." Wufei yanked the woman up by the shoulder angrily. "When I last saw her, she was being attacked by that demon man! She'll no more be capable of providing a distraction than a rock would be able to swim! That's it, I don't need you! I'll escape by myself!" Suddenly the screamed words, "SHUT UP WHEN I'M TALKIN TO YOU! SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP!!!!!" were heard. The sound was increased as the bass was blasted, causing some walls to shake. "Incapable of providing a disturbance? Yeah, right, and my name is Queen Elizabeth the first. Now will you hurry up?"  
  
While D and Wufei were hurrying to escape, Eschaton was fighting for her life. The "demon man" as Wufei had termed Denizen had managed to burst through the door. He was a terrifying sight. The tall black man was enraged. His clawlike hands slashed at her, cutting her back, side, arms, and legs. He made strange sounds as he fought, like the screams of lost souls in the underworld. Eschaton, on the other hand, fought in almost pure silence, now and then emitting a wild roar, sounding like an enraged wildcat. She slashed at his face, making a deep cut on his right cheek. He screamed in fury, swiping at her blindly. Dodging his attack, she ducked under his arms and ran through the open doors, towards the hangar for the mobile suits. Denizen wasn't far behind.  
  
Some of the mobile suits were shuddering, and two had fallen down, blasted by the heavy bass in 'One Step Closer.' When Eschaton reached the hangar, she helped her friend, D, and Wufei, hotwire a mobile suit, but Denizen appeared. Screaming in rage, Eschaton launched herself from the mobile suit, knocking the beast to the ground. "Go! Go now, warn the others! Hurry!" Eschaton pushed Denizen away from her and climbed atop a tall metal scaffolding. Denizen hurled himself towards it, ramming it, again and again, while she held on for dear life, yelping involuntarily when one of the chains connecting the scaffolding to the wall broke and hit her in the back. D started up the mobile suit, but the sudden sound made Denizen look towards them. His cruel black eyes fell upon the escapees, then he ran towards the mobile suit, attempting to climb up and get to its occupants. Eschaton then did something that was very brave, and perhaps one of the stupidest things she had ever done.  
  
Leaping from the top of the scaffolding, she landed on top of Denizen, falling to the ground with him on top of her. Wufei looked down in amazement at the fury of the two battlers. Eschaton had been stunned for a moment, allowing the bestial man to grab her and start to strangle her. But she wasn't stunned for long. She twisted around and scratched him in the face, nearly blinding him, and he dropped her. "Go now!" she shouted, one last time, before Denizen grabbed her by the neck and threw her, still clawing madly at him, towards the mobile suit's leg, causing the mobile suit to shudder violently. A moment after she slid to the ground, the mobile suit flew away, and the last thing Eschaton could remember seeing was D and Wufei escaping from the mountain base, heading off towards the setting sun to escape anyone who might chase them, then she blacked out, hearing the cruel snarling voice of Denizen. "You'll not get away with this, in fact, you're perhaps the best thing to happen to this place in a long time! You'll be just like Christmas!"  
  
  
  
That was two months ago.  
  
  
  
Eschaton groaned in agony as she lay, bound hand and foot, on the cold damp floor of her cell. She was scheduled for another bout of questioning in about an hour. She found that she could no longer think of ways to escape. She had spent the first few days coming up with impossible methods of escape, but her ideas had soon ended. She was imprisoned with the very man she had wanted to destroy, and had found out the truth. Jenison was responsible for her life, and Denizen was a brother of a kind to her. She slid in and out of consciousness, reflecting over the things she had learned, her family, the abbey, her friends, the Gundams, …Duo…  
  
  
  
"I was a friend of your father's," "Sure, a friend who killed him!", "That was Denizen, he had already gained control over me. I'm sorry, I wish to the fates I had never encountered the idea of combing a human with an animal, but then again, you would never have been alive and been permitted to grow up if I didn't."  
  
  
  
Eschaton had learned many things, Denizen was the leader, although he, like Eschaton, pretended only to be a common soldier. He was wanton and cruel. She had already been beaten in the middle of the night, he had just walked in and began to beat her. And he had tried worse when she was still under the effects of some strange drug, but her instincts saved her, causing her to lash out at the right time. She shuddered at the memory. Jenison held a rag dampened with cool water to her forehead, trying to cure the fever she had developed. She marveled at the thought that he had become like a father to her. "Jenison, I wish I had known you were, well, you, but I didn't. I thought you were more like Denizen. I swear to the Fates that I will tell everyone the truth when we escape!" Jenison smiled fondly at the young girl. But there was a tear in his eye. D and Wufei were the only people who had ever escaped from Denizen, and Eschaton had no chance in her present condition. He stroked her hair as she slipped into unconsciousness again. Her once long reddish brown hair had turned silver due to everything that had been done to her. Jenison's anger towards Denizen was increased when he saw the cruel electrical burn marks on her arms. Why did I have to create Denizen? Why?  
  
  
  
Denizen stalked into the room, glaring at Jenison and the unconscious Eschaton. The deep scratch Eschaton had inflicted on his right cheek had formed a large, ugly scar. "Come, Now! No, not you, old man, the brat!" Jenison tried to reason with the beast, knowing it was of no use. "Please, she's had enough! She won't survive much more of this!" Denizen yanked up Eschaton and pushed Jenison violently into the wall, then walked out of the room, dragging Eschaton by a chain, fastened to a collar about her throat. Eschaton awoke, finding herself chained to the third floor ceiling of a first floor warehouse room, with something being injected into her. "You've managed to hold out for quite some time, but don't relax. No one's ever been able to resist the truth serum." Eschaton glared at Denizen, then spat between his feet. "Bring it on, beast man. You know I can take it." Denizen hit her once, causing her to spin around once on the chain. Eschaton felt herself begin to float on a throbbing wave of pain; the truth serum was taking effect. All of Denizen's methods were painful, some just more than others. "What is your name?" Eschaton's answer came in a flat, expressionless voice. "Eschaton Evangelion Apocrapha Mendrah Elion."  
  
Duo paced back and forth, wishing the others would hurry. He had planned it meticulously, although there were times when he just had to hit something. He would have hit his new Gundam, Deathscythe Eternal, but he was saddened when he looked at it; he and Eschaton had worked on the weapons system together. So he just had street fighting matches with anyone who would fight him. He had gotten a few bruises from Havoc, Ignition, and Raven, to put it lightly. But he was getting stronger than ever. The plan was simple, but dangerous. Duo was to be disguised as a soldier, finding out where Eschaton was being held, perhaps even sneaking her out of the base. Heero, along with D, and Trowa, along with Ririku, were to provide a small distraction. Wufei would sneak in with Sage, making sure Sage was undisturbed while she was hacking into the computer system. Quatre was to pilot a shuttle with Dark Phoenix inside of it, waiting for Duo to bring Eschaton to him so she could pilot Dark Phoenix, then she could have the privilege of destroying the mountain base, Base Terra, and wiping it off of the globe. Duo decided to call the mission "Operation Firefighter," he knew Eschaton would laugh when she heard the name. He just hoped it would work.  
  
  
  
Denizen was uncomfortable; something was wrong. Surely it couldn't be this simple to get answers out of her? But she was standing there, answering, one question after another. "Where is your base?" she answered, a look of total disregard on her face. "We have a base in the Pacific Ocean. There is also one in Australia. There is one in Japan, a base in Louisiana, and one on Mars." Eschaton was shivering slightly. The truth serum was working, but in another way. Eschaton had been diagnosed with something called attention deficit disorder before her parents had died. The result was that she could take medicine like Ritalin, Adderal, Wellbutrin, and other drugs that would make normal people lose control, but she would gain control. The truth serum was something like this. The many chemicals they had tried on her to weaken her and break her resolve had done much to help her. They were strengthening her, and although not even she realized it, she was going to be stronger than she ever was soon. She was being induced to tell lies. And if Denizen found out, she would most probably be killed. Denizen didn't look like he thought she was lying. It went against his learning to think anyone could resist the truth serum, much less be able to lie convincingly while under its influence. Eschaton stopped a smile from floating to her lips as she thought, I should have done this ages ago! But she said something that made Denizen angry; making Denizen angry is not the safest way to spend your time.  
  
"The Gundams are with you, are they not?" Eschaton shuddered, then went still, answering once again in the toneless voice she had chosen to speak in. "No, they are not. The Gundams refused to help us. I came in to get a friend of mine, but saw Wufei and decided to get both out." Denizen slapped her angrily, causing her knees to buckle under her. For a few moments, she was only supported by the chain her arms were tied to, but it was painful; her arms were tied behind her back. Eschaton scrambled to her feet. "Linder, let's give our cat-like friend a little height." Eschaton was slowly hoisted up until her feet were a few inches off of the ground. She gasped in spite of herself. The pain was unbelievable. "I happen to know that Wufei's rescue was planned, and that you have at least Duo Maxwell working for you. In fact, I know that he means more to you than you admit. You really must learn not to speak in your sleep; we found out about him when you were first discovered. Women are so easy to manipulate. Give them a little pain, and they'll tell you anything you want to know when they sleep. Linder, move her up higher. I'm tired of this, and she looks quite attractive as a hanging ornament." Eschaton was lifted up until she was about three feet from the ceiling, gasping in pain. Red lights began flashing, and a terrified private ran into the room, screaming, "Sir, we're under attack, we're under attack!" he saw Eschaton hanging from the ceiling and stood in shocked silence until Denizen hit him on the shoulder, causing him to fall. "Attacked, by who?" The young soldier jumped up and straightened, barking out in true military fashion. "We're not sure, sir! Four mobile suits, appear to be well-piloted, sir! Could I have your orders, sir!" Denizen ran from the room, taking Linder with him. "Just make sure the prisoner doesn't escape. I'll take care of this."  
  
When Denizen was safely out of sight, the soldier took off his hat, revealing a long brown braid that tumbled down from where it had been hidden in the hat. "Did ya miss me?" Eschaton could hardly believe her eyes. "Duo!" 


	10. Chapter ten

Chapter Ten: What Goes Up Must Come Down  
  
Heero sat on the ground next to the two mobile suits, Wing 001 and Angel Fire. He studied the strange girl sitting next to him, leaning up against her mobile suit, Angel Fire. He only knew her name, D, and that she was a good pilot. A beeping came from Wing 001's radio. "Time to attack," was all he said. D barely nodded and stood up. They each went to their Gundams and climbed inside. They waited thirty seconds before starting up and beginning their attack.  
  
Trowa looked up from under his dark brown bangs, only one of his forest green eyes visible, and it was betraying no emotions as he gazed up at the sun. His strange partner was sitting up in the boughs of a nondescript tree. She was a bit upset about not being allowed to wear her long cape, but that was life. Her red eyes seemed to gleam with anticipation of the battle that was to come. Neither bothered to look at their mobile suits. Her Gundam was the storm gray Fuyu Karasu, the Winter Crow, with its flame red beam trident somehow hidden from sight. Trowa had gotten a new Gundam. He named his the Megaton. It's gigantic beam canon arms and missile launcher shoulders dully gleamed in the bright sunlight. He allowed himself to think of his sister, Cathy, and the circus. His thoughts were interrupted when the beeping came from Ririku's radio. Neither saying anything, they silently boarded their Gundams. It was time.  
  
When he ran into the room to tell Denizen of the attack, Duo fumed inwardly when he saw how they had treated his girlfriend. She looked half dead, hanging limply from the ceiling. Her once long and shiny reddish brown hair had whitened into a silver color. Denizen hit him, nearly knocking him off his feet. He managed to get himself under control enough to tell Denizen about the attacking mobile suits. Duo had been at the base for two days, and this was the first time he had been allowed to see the prisoner. It was relatively simple; he made sure he was at hand when they were attacked, and that he had nothing to do. He ran into the room, looking scared senseless. Denizen ran out of the room with Linder when he heard of the attack, commanding Duo to make sure she wouldn't escape. Duo waited until he couldn't hear the two men anymore, then took off his hat, revealing his long brunette braid. He looked up at her, grinning broadly. "Did ya miss me?" Eschaton realized it was him, then before she could stop herself, called out his name, "Duo!" Duo looked around, then smiled once more when he saw no one had heard her. "Nekomon, you really must learn to control yourself." He searched for the controls Linder had been using to lift Eschaton up. He couldn't find them. She had her old mischievous gleam in her eyes. "I can get down, don't worry."  
  
Eschaton felt rejuvenated when she saw Duo. She slowly turned herself, pulling her shoulders out of joint for a moment before she flipped. Her hands, which had been tied behind her, were then tied above her. Jerking against the chain to knock her shoulders back into joint, she then pulled herself up, turning upside down and clinging to the chain with her legs: they had untied her feet when she was being questioned. She extended a claw on one finger, and after a few moments had freed herself. She clung upside down to the chain for a moment, measuring the distance from the chain to a hanging light fixture. Six feet, easy. Swinging on the chain to get momentum, she let herself slip from it, hanging by one hand before letting go, flipping like an acrobat and grabbing onto the light, her long silver hair fanning out behind her. She did the same thing with the light, swinging over to the other two lights. She had finally reached the scaffolding on the walls. Making a last jump over to it, she climbed down as quickly as she could. Duo watched her proudly. She could still get around after everything they had done to her.  
  
She pounced on him as soon as she got close enough, hugging him ecstatically. "Duo! Duo, Duo, Duo! I missed you!" Duo laughed, then grabbed her by the waist and tossed her off of him. She landed sprawled out on the floor, laughing. "What happened to your hair?" she grimaced a moment before smiling again. "Denizen decided he wanted me to give him my phone number, but I didn't want to tell him. I don't want to talk about what he tried to do to get it." Duo nodded understandingly. "We'd better hurry up, I think your friends want to destroy this place.?" Eschaton stopped laughing and looked startled for a moment. "But what about Jenison! He's not bad! We have to get him!" Duo looked down into her face, studying it intently. She was worried. "Alright, we'll get him. But you go ahead and get to Quatre. He has Phoenix ready and waiting for you." Eschaton looked at him angrily, her tail lashing. "No, I'm not going to be sitting in Phoenix while you risk your life trying to get someone you don't even know! I'm coming with you, and don't you doubt it!" Duo sighed; when she was like this, a nuclear bomb wouldn't change her mind. He gave in to her, although he admitted later that he had wanted her to come with him.  
  
They snuck together through the base, Eschaton leading Duo to the cell she had been imprisoned in for so long. Jenison was still in the cell. "Damn." She whispered. She didn't have her blasting cards. Duo interpreted her crestfallen look. "Here, I thought you might like these." He carefully tossed her a deck of cards. Smiling as though it had just become her lucky day, she caught them, and took out the Jack of Clubs. Putting it in between the doorway and the door, she stepped back a few paces and pulled Duo with her. The lock was blown up in a small and strangely quiet explosion. "Ok, Jenison, are you there? Jenison?" Jenison was there, dead, with Denizen standing over him, clawed hands dripping blood, a maniacal smile on his face.  
  
"Hurry up! I can't believe I'm in here waiting for you!" Wufei was leaning against the door frame, arms crossed with a revolver in his right hand. Sage was busily typing on her laptop, which was connected by a linking cable to Base Terra's main computer. "I'm almost in…" she muttered, more to herself than to Wufei. She clicked on the "Enter" key. "Got it!" Numbers began streaming on her laptop screen. "It's about time," Wufei muttered darkly. "No, it's about programming. Now will you shut up for a minute? I need to install this program." Sage pulled a c.d., seemingly out of nowhere, and inserted it into her laptop. "Why should I be quiet? If I have to stand here making sure some stupid hacker doesn't get captured, I should be able to talk!" Sage shot him a murderous glare, then smiled suddenly and pulled one of her many weapons into view. Ebony. She pointed it at Wufei, then pulled the trigger. Click! Wufei jumped in surprise, and Sage began laughing. "Idiot, couldn't you tell Ebony wasn't armed?" She had already turned back towards her computer. She clicked a few times, and a crude skull and crossbones appeared on her computer screen, hovering over a glowing green tube that seemed to slowly fill up. "It's uploading, I'll only be a minute longer."  
  
Quatre sat patiently, waiting for Duo and Eschaton. He looked back once again at the doors to the cargo bay, wondering at how Eschaton had designed Phoenix to be so advanced. He sighed as he forced himself to look at the instrument panel once again, waiting for Duo's signal.  
  
Eschaton froze for a moment, her hazel eyes blazing with rage. "You…" she snarled menacingly. Duo had never seen her truly angry before. Maybe a little annoyed or upset, but never truly angry. Her tail lashed, and her long, black curved claws were extended. Her sharp teeth were revealed when she spoke. Denizen gave her a chilling leer. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you like him? Oh well, I can always send you to be with him!" Duo pushed Eschaton out of the way and slammed the door, hitting Denizen as he lunged. "Run!" Denizen practically ripped the door from it's hinges, chasing them.  
  
Duo was having to basically drag Eschaton away. "Nekomon, come on! We've got to go!" She calmed down slightly, nodding her head and turning to follow him. Duo led her out of the base, but Denizen appeared in front of them. He was smiling gruesomely, and held a gun in his hand. Eschaton rushed at him, speeding up in her anger. Denizen shot her, and although she put a hand out in an instinctive attempt to block it, the bullet passed through her hand and into her side. Falling to the ground, Eschaton didn't move.  
  
Wufei and Sage snuck around the base, dodging behind corners and doorways when panicked soldiers ran past them. They made it out of the base, running to the shuttle Quatre was waiting in. Sage looked around. "Where's Duo and Eschaton? They should have been here by now!" if Sage had known where they were, she would have boarded Dark Phoenix herself and found Denizen.  
  
Duo looked at Eschaton lying on the ground, her right hand a bloody mess. He reached for his gun, but found he had dropped it. Denizen menaced him with the gun. "Should I go ahead and kill you now," he mused, "or wait and see if your girlfriend will wake up so she can watch you die?" Duo's voice was cold and shook with rage. "How could you do that to her? You god damn bastard!" Denizen shook his finger at Duo, as though chastising a young child. "Now, now, now. Remember your language. But you gave me the wrong answer. I think I'll kill you now. Then I'll make sure your girlfriend isn't far behind. Goodbye, little Gundam." Denizen squeezed the trigger.  
  
Duo leapt to the side, being grazed on the side of his head as the bullet whistled past his ear. He lifted up Eschaton, threw her over his shoulder, and ran with her to a depression in the side of the mountain. Denizen had not followed, but was instead running towards Base Terra. Duo carefully laid Eschaton in it, then knelt down beside her, shaking her. "Nekomon, wake up Nekomon! I know you can hear me, you have to hear me!" Her hazel eyes flickered open, the strange burning lights gone. She gazed at him for a moment, then looked down at her mangled hand, a frown on her face. "My hand…it…hurts." She looked away, staring resolutely into the sky, watching the battle.  
  
"I want to find him, Duo. I want to fight him and destroy him. Is Phoenix here?" Duo nodded. "Then help me get to her." Duo put his hand out, stopping her from struggling to her feet. "You're hurt too badly. You can't pilot a mobile suit! Look at yourself, damn it!" She pushed his hand away with her left hand and got to her feet. "I'm going to fight him, and I'll fight him today, before he can forget what he's done to me, and what he's tried to do to me!" tears were in her eyes, and she seemed to be trapped in her mind for a moment. Shaking her head violently, she continued. "I can't just go, besides, they need my help! Denizen's created mobile suits that are equals to the Gundams! Not the Scorpios, no, they aren't half as strong. Denizen has ten Libras at his command in this base! If he thinks he can't win, he'll order them out to fight! I DON'T want to watch my friends get killed!"  
  
Duo nodded his understanding, then put his arm over her shoulders and led her to Quatre's shuttle. "I can fight, you know. I can fight without my hands. I have a program. It hasn't been successfully tested, but I know I can make it work. I'll be okay, you'll see. But when I tell you, make sure everyone gets out of the way, in fact, tell them to get back to the solar base. I might need help to get back. Get on your radio and see if Peter can send a shuttle to Earth so I won't have to pilot Phoenix out of the atmosphere." Duo was a little unbelieving. "It takes days to get here from the sun! How could he send a shuttle and you get back within a week?" Eschaton smiled secretively. "You don't actually think the little golden button on Deathscythe Eternal has no function, do you? It's a teleport button. Once you get into space, you can teleport yourself to about ten miles from the solar base in less than a day. You can travel through like matter in less than a tenth of the time it would take you to travel it normally." Duo agreed, resolving to tell Quatre and the other pilots this. They reached the shuttle, and Eschaton immediately ran into it and through the cargo bay doors, not even stopping to say hello to Sage. "Figures. We come all the way down here to get her out of here, and she runs past me without even saying hello. How completely and unbelievably typical!" Quatre ignored her ranting and opened the doors, freeing the Phoenix.  
  
Duo ran to where he had hidden the Deathscythe Eternal. In reality, he had landed in the middle of an open field, but the cloaking device on the Deathscythe was highly advanced. Pushing a button atop a small device he had hidden in his braid, he jumped into the now visible Deathscythe Eternal. The new mobile suit was and looked deadly. It's glossy black Elendium alloy shell provided amazing protection. When Eschaton had first told him what it was made out of, he had been surprised that she didn't call it an Elendium instead of a Gundam, but she had explained that everyone was so used to calling them Gundams, that the name just stuck. The curved black wings had strange markings on them, an acid green scythe and a flame red whip, resting atop a white crescent moon. The beam scythe was acid green, and there were green flames running all along the black body. He fired up the mobile suit. "Come on, Deathscythe, we have to go meet up with the others!" he flew through the air towards the awesome explosions the battle was causing.  
  
Heero destroyed another two mobile suits with his beam cannon, being matched suit for suit by the other fighters. He looked appreciatively at the two mobile suits piloted by Ririku and D. They really were good pilots! Trowa was coolly manipulating his mobile suit, causing one missile to take out two mobile suits. Eschaton was good at designing mobile suits. She was able to use the least amount of power to inflict the most amount of damage. He saw something flying towards him. Now that it was being compared to other mobile suits, it was easily the smallest of the Gundams, coming up to the shoulder of Megaton when it flew past him. Eschaton's face flickered onto the screen. "You might all want to go now. I'm not sure how this is going to turn out, and I don't want to risk destroying anybody." The pilots were all confused. Ririku, D, Trowa, and Heero turned their mobile suits away, flying towards Quatre and the shuttle, the agreed meeting place after the battle. They landed by the shuttle, coming out of their mobile suits and standing around, Ririku was talking about how glad she was about having her red target contacts to Trowa while he just stood and nodded a few times. D and Heero merely watched the silver Gundam, wondering what was going to happen. Duo flew over the shuttle in the Deathscythe Eternal, landing in between the four standing mobile suits. Jumping out and standing alone, which was very strange for him to do, he watched in silence.  
  
Eschaton clumsily dodged a few attacks. It was difficult to fight with only one hand. She knew the others had to think she was crazy for fighting like this and refusing any help, but she knew the risks of Morpheus XIII and didn't want to risk them happening. She activated the particle shield, setting it to full strength and deflecting some of the attacks. "Phoenix, activate Morpheus Thirteen!" the feminine monotone voice of the computer began the sequence. "Retinal scan and voice imprint commencing. Give your full name." Opening her eyes wide and speaking clearly, she allowed the laser to scan her eye, saying, "I am Eschaton, the end of days." "Voice imprint and retinal scan completed. Password." She blinked her eyes, shaking her head to stop the flashes caused by the laser. "Random Apocalypse." "Morpheus Thirteen Activated!"  
  
White mist filled the cockpit as a blinding light flashed. When the light and mist dissipated, Eschaton's eyes had changed. The green in her eyes were bright, glowing in the dim cockpit. The amber around her slit pupils was intensified, a bright golden red color. A helmet slowly lowered over her head. The Phoenix itself changed. The blue lenses that were its 'eyes' had become the same as her eyes, creating an eerie human-like appearance, but the rest of the head was in such sharp contrast that it seemed supernatural. The dragon-like wings seemed to grow, lengthening into something that could shield her, but could also be used as weapons; they were edged like knives. Phoenix's fingers sprouted long, curved silver talons. The body of the Phoenix glowed in multiple colors, like an opal. Eschaton felt strength, defiance, and the drunken feeling of invincibility flow through her veins.  
  
Denizen looked in disbelief at the face on the vid window. How could she still be alive? "Hello there, my pusillanimous pal, did you think you would see me again?" She turned off the connection so Denizen wouldn't answer her. Denizen didn't try to reply, sending a missile straight at her. Her eyes were closed, but she envisioned the missile through some sixth sense. Her mobile suit swung its whip, decimating the missile before it could strike her.  
  
While Denizen couldn't see or speak to Eschaton, Duo and the others gathered around the small vid radio Ririku always carried could. They watched in amazement as Denizen directed his men to attack her. "How could she have her eyes closed the entire time and still fight like that?" breathed Ririku. "That's not what I want to know. I want to know how she could fight like that period. Especially after being injured so badly." D turned towards Duo, worry in her voice. "Injured, what do you mean? How was she hurt?" Duo shook his head in disbelief at the sphere of destruction Eschaton was causing with her whip. "I think Nekomon would rather tell you herself. But I'll say one thing. I'd hate to be Denizen after what he did to her hand, in fact, I'd hate to be Denizen PERIOD! He killed Jenison, and she's mad at him for that." Sage couldn't believe her ears. "What? I thought she hated Jenison! Isn't he the one who killed all of the people she cared about when she was younger?" Duo shook his head. "I'll let her tell you herself when she gets back."  
  
Eschaton could feel every movement of her enemies in her mind, sometimes reacting before she was even attacked. She was in a world of her mind. In her mind, she was Phoenix, and all of the attacking mobile suits were around her. She lashed out with the double scythe in her right hand, sweeping off the legs of three mobile suits. Denizen struck her from behind, causing her to roar in anger. She then began fighting at a speed no one had ever seen. The whip was a blinding silver flash, her double scythe a flaming sweep. Moving the whip to her right hand so it would swing with the scythe, she slashed a mobile suit in half with the talons on Phoenix's hand. Two lustrous throwing stars came from the slit in Phoenix's palm. She threw them, and the swept around her like twin boomerangs, returning to her after they shattered four mobile suits. Eschaton threw them again and again, slicing through the ranks of mobile suits surrounding her.  
  
Denizen looked at the silver mobile suit in terror. He could no longer see the actual form of the Gundam; it was moving too quickly, appearing as a glittering blur. He decided to escape, but sent a "present" to Eschaton. "Send out the Libras!" He sped away as the ten mobile suits streamed out to attack Dark Phoenix. 


	11. Chapter eleven

Chapter Eleven: The Terrible Trio  
  
Denizen's mobile suit came within radio contact of the lunar base in less than an hour. "Lunar control. This is Denizen. Send out Richard and a dozen Libras. There's a fight at Base Terra. Order them to attack only the silver mobile suit!" "Roger. We are dispatching some of our best pilots as we speak." The large gray mobile suits flew from the base at a breakneck speed, thundering towards the Earth like a shower of meteors.  
  
Eschaton had nearly obliterated the ranks of mobile suits when the ten Libras reached her. Her heart pounding frantically, she hardly noticed as they formed a ring, encircling her. A loud booming sound practically shook the Phoenix. A dozen more Libras appeared, making the ring appear nearly solid. She threw the stars a last time, taking out the final three Scorpios, but the Libra they were speeding towards knocked them off course with its beam sword, causing them to return to the Phoenix. Eschaton tried to break out of the ring, but was hemmed in too skillfully by the Libras. One of the Libras fired a strange beam at her. The beam looked like a gigantic net, but disappeared the moment she was struck. The Libras then began charging up for an attack. They were going to attack her with their beam cannons at the same time.  
  
"Warning, critical heart rate exceeded. Emergency shut off of Morpheus Thirteen engaging." The helmet was raised from Eschaton's head. Her eyes were still closed, and the almost constant sound of her heartbeat was heard by all of the people standing around Ririku's vid radio. There was a flash of red light as the beam net struck Phoenix, and Eschaton screamed in agony, her eyes, now normal, snapping open in shock. When the red light cleared, she tried to manipulate the controls, but Phoenix would not move. Seeing the Libras gathering their energy together, she ordered Phoenix to start up Morpheus. "Maximum safe heartbeat overtaken. Heart rate is above 350. Morpheus could prove fatal." "I don't care!" Eschaton stopped yelling at Phoenix and watched in horror as the energy beams from the Libras were fired at her. "Phoenix, all power to the particle shield…….NOW!" Dark Phoenix was surrounded by the multicolored light of the particle shield. It's thrusters had no power and it fell. The energy beam struck it, but the particle shield held in place. As the smoke cleared, the Phoenix's thrusters fired up again, shining brighter than ever.  
  
"Reinitiate Morpheus Thirteen now! Emergency automatic shutoff overridden! Give me the maximum Morpheus effect!" This time, the mist was thick and black. Eschaton coughed slightly before it cleared. Her eyes had changed again, but this time they were really glowing, the blazing green and glowing amber shone through the black smoke before it had even cleared entirely. But this time, it took a few moments before she closed her eyes. "Phoenix, deactivate emergency automatic shut off system." The Libras fired once again before the helmet lowered. Phoenix would have been struck, but three of the Libras detached and deflected the blasts. A face appeared on her vid window. "Hello Mizu. I've brought some friends to meet you." Eschaton didn't answer. The helmet had lowered completely, and her body relaxed, indicating that she had once again passed out of normal consciousness. The heartbeat monitor continued to beat, but then went almost silent, giving a soft beep now and then.  
  
Sage looked at the screen in amazement, muttering in a soft monotone no one could hear "She shouldn't have done that. She should never have done that. She could kill herself."  
  
Richard shook his head. "Steve, Tricode, we should get out of here. Hang back, but stay in your mobile suits. You might be attacked or have to help if something happens to Mizu." The vid windows didn't show the faces of the two pilots. The three renegade Libras landed on the ground, and soon, everyone was watching the battle.  
  
Phoenix's particle shield didn't show up when it was moving, it was only a silvery blur. But while Eschaton's heartbeat slowed, it shone like a bright opal. Eschaton felt herself floating among the mobile suits. This time, she could feel what the Phoenix was feeling, and could feel every breeze, every particle of dust, everything that was affecting the Dark Phoenix affected her. She opened her eyes inside of the helmet, not seeing the inside of it, but seeing all around her, as though she were above, below, and all around at the same time. The strange eyes of the Phoenix changed again, matching her eyes once more. The Libras attacked, ignoring the three rebels on the ground; they had their orders, and would follow them to the death.  
  
She looked at her hands, no longer feeling pain in her right side. Her hands were silver, one with a slot, the other holding a double scythe and a whip. She focused her mind, and the twin throwing stars slid out of the slot in her left hand. She threw them and watched as they were once again blocked. That was when she made her move.  
  
Wufei watched in grudging admiration. She pushed herself hard, and got results. The Phoenix began moving, a bit slowly at first, but then speeding up, quickly overtaking and exceeding the speed she had previously fought at. The silver mobile suit was nothing but a blur, no longer remotely recognizable in shape as a mobile suit. A Libra suddenly exploded, revealing the sweep of a flaming red double scythe. Another Libra was destroyed, then another. Eschaton had begun swinging the whip in a perfect circle, creating a sphere of destruction around her. Each time a Libra came within her range, it was either heavily damaged or destroyed.  
  
In a few minutes, the Libras were nothing but scrap, and the silver mobile suit was motionless in the air. The glow around it flickered, then disappeared. The glowing eyes turned to the dark blue again, then abruptly shut off. The Phoenix fell to the ground.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Sorry its so short, had to stop, but don't worry, twelve will be out soon. I'm working on another story at the same time, the real first story I ever wrote, but it'll take me a while to remember what my ideas were. I'm planning on posting it someday, so look out for it. Yikes, talk about multi-tasking. Try writing three completely different stories at the same time!!!!!!!!!1  
  
If you like Niko Nightwind's AJ, you'll be sure to love Steve! I'll say one thing; think "crocodile hunter"  
  
And I might write a disclaimer in eleven!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (faints from surprise) 


	12. Chapter twelve

Chapter Twelve: When the Dust Clears  
  
Duo and the others ran to the fallen mobile suit, staring at the destruction surrounding it. The three pilots in the Libras leapt out of their mobile suits and followed Eschaton's worried friends. Duo pried open the cockpit door, stopping in shock when he saw Eschaton. She was completely limp, the blood dripping from her right hand forming a puddle on the floor of the cockpit. Her shirt was drenched in blood where she had been shot in the side. Eschaton's eyes were open, staring vacantly at the sky, both back to their usual hazel color. Duo reached inside and unbuckled the harness, lifting her and carrying her in his arms like a child. Eschaton's head lolled listlessly from side to side as he carried her slowly towards the shuttle, not looking at anyone as he passed. "I'll set an autopilot course for the base." said Sage, sadly climbing into the Phoenix and pressing a few buttons. When she climbed out, the cockpit closed and Dark Phoenix sprang to its feet, taking off and shielding itself with its dragon wings as it passed through the atmosphere into space.  
  
Sage felt a hand pat her on her shoulder, then winced as something sharp cut her. "Oops, sorry. I forgot about those." She couldn't believe her ears. It was Tricode, her older brother! "H-how did you get here? And where have you been?" he winked at her, trying to smile. "I flew, of course. I was in one of the Libras, with Richard and Steve. Richard asked me to help him to spy in the lunar base." He pointed with his double- nailed right hand in the direction of Richard and another pilot. The strange pilot was wearing…a safari outfit? Sage blinked, but her eyes hadn't deceived her. He was wearing a khaki colored short-sleeved shirts and shorts of the same material. She turned back and hurried to the shuttle, resolving to think of nothing else but her friend until she was better.  
  
The pilots slowly left. Some in their mobile suits, some in the shuttle. Deathscythe returned to the solar base in the same way that Phoenix had. Quatre carefully piloted the shuttle to the base. Duo and Sage sat in the back beside Eschaton while Wufei sat with Quatre, silent as usual. Eschaton didn't wake up for the entire trip, nor did she wake up that day.  
  
A week after testing Morpheus XIII in Battle Terra, she woke up, and the first words she said were, "I'm hungry. I think I smell food. Where is it?" Although Duo and the others tried to get her to stay in bed, she refused, mischievously throwing a blanket over Moose when she tried to push Eschaton back into the bed, causing Moose to run into the wall. "Nekomon, you really shouldn't be getting up. You're still too weak!"  
  
Eschaton bared her teeth and claws, widening her eyes madly at Duo, then breaking down into helpless laughter at the puzzled look on his face. Something glittered and caught her eye. She looked at her right hand, moving it, flexing it, and felt it with her left hand. It was completely healed, even if a little stiff. She tried to bare the claws on her right hand, but found that she couldn't free her claws unless she curved her fingers towards her palm. "How did this happen? And why are my claws made of Elendium?"  
  
Grinning, the lizard-like Tricode helped Moose out from under the blanket, where she had been wrestling around, trying to find the opening. She swayed on her feet, still slightly dazed from hitting the wall. "That would be because your bones in the right hand are made out of Elendium. I had to replace them, and the nerves in your hand were almost completely destroyed. But Sage took care of that part." Sage walked forward, grinning from ear to ear proudly. "Would you enjoy hearing how I did it? Too bad if you don't. I believe I'll tell you anyway. Hey, Duo. Try squeezing her right hand." Duo walked forward and took his girlfriend's hand in his, then started squeezing. A puzzled expression came over Eschaton's face. "I can't feel anything!" Sage grinned even more. "Ok, now, hit something with your right hand. Here, hit Steve's metal cup, try to flatten it." She looked at Eschaton's hand, then at Duo. "Duo, she can't hit anything if you're holding onto her hand like that. Don't you realize that's her right hand? Or can you not tell left from right?" Duo sheepishly let go of Eschaton's right hand, then grabbed onto her left much to the amusement of the onlookers.  
  
A man Eschaton didn't know walked up to her. He was wearing a safari outfit and steel-toed hiking boots. He handed her a large metal drinking cup. "'Ere ya go Eschaton." He had a strong Australian accent, and pronounced her name, "Ace-ka-tone." Baffled, Eschaton put the cup on the table, then made a fist and swung upwards. Halting for a moment, she brought her hand crashing down, and promptly crushed the metal cup, then broke the table. "Oops, er, sorry about that Moose." Moose laughed at the guilty expression on Eschaton's face. "It's ok." Sage coughed loudly to get attention back to herself. "There are also a few other accessories to your hand. You can give the exact temperature, air or water pressure, temperature, AND the magnitude of an earthquake that's five hundred miles away to anyone who asks you. And pick up am fm radio when the conditions are right. I'm still not sure about how that part happened. I did it all with microscopic computers, computer chips, and extremely difficult programming. I might add that I am the only person who understands how to do it. How does that sound?" Eschaton could merely look at her hand in awe. "Well, it sounds great, but my hand is still a little stiff."  
  
Sage rolled her eyes and muttered to herself. "Figures, absolutely no respect, always focus on the negative things in life. How completely and unbelievably typical."  
  
Eschaton, and everyone else, ignored her. She slipped her hand from Duo's, exclaiming, "I dunno bout you people, but I'm starving!" a loud rumble from her stomach confirmed her claim. The people in the room laughed, after all, how could they not when Eschaton was in the mood to make people laugh?  
  
A week later, Duo and Eschaton were sitting alone on the Phoenix's shoulders, hidden from view. This was a place they often went now when they wanted to be alone. Of course, this was also a place where Eschaton hid after beginning her notoriously mischievous crime spree, including playing a joke on Rhia which ended with Rhia sentencing her to death by decapitation. But Eschaton had challenged her to another duel, and won, again. Duo looked over at his girlfriend. She was playing with a small piece of foil, turning her head this way and that as it shone in the fluorescent lights. Putting his hand over the foil on her fingertips, he asked, "Why have you changed so much? When I first met you, you were only slightly like this once in a long time. But now…" Eschaton looked at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I suppose it's because of Jenison. I had to grow up when my parents died, and I grew up hating him, living only to cause his death. But, when I met him, he was like a father to me. He showed me that a person was not always what they seemed to be, and I guess I just feel like life is short, and I need to live it to its fullest." She grinned at Duo. "I've recently begun to live that philosophy, and I'm having more fun than I ever did!" Duo laughed, but then stopped and said what had been bothering him ever since Eschaton had fallen into a coma. "What about Denizen? He escaped, and he could be doing anything, planning anything."  
  
Eschaton shook her head, dismissing the thought with a wave of her hand and a flick of her tail, she answered him. "I know. That's one of the reasons I changed. I realized that no matter how mature I was, it did nothing to help matters. I just have to be myself, and if that's crazy, terrifying, VERY easily amused, and insane, then so be it." Her cat-like ears twitched. "I think I hear an angry voice, the sound of metal being drawn from leather, and I feel the tremors of pounding footsteps. Man, I'm good!"  
  
Tricode hurried into view, looking behind his shoulder and muttering to himself, his black hair and trench coat flowing out behind him. "Never do that to Rhia again. Never. But damn she has a bad temper for such a hot girl!" Eschaton giggled softly. Tricode looked up, a sly smile spreading over his face. "Oh-ho! So this is where you two have been disappearing to! No wonder everyone avoids this place when they don't know where you are!" Eschaton jumped from her perch on Dark Phoenix's shoulder, landing solidly on her feet in front of Tricode. "You were saying?" she said, tail lashing. "Uh…" an angry shout was heard. "Thou foul knave! Whilst thou stand and exchange blows with me, or shalt thou run as the coward thy claim not to be?" Tricode's silver eyes widened and he dashed behind the Libra he was re-designing, using the strange claws under his nails to ensure he didn't fall as he clung to the back of its leg.  
  
Rhia appeared, broadsword at the ready, an enraged scowl on her face. "Hast thou seen the knave who has insulted me with his frivolous promises and absurd vows?" Eschaton allowed herself an amused grin before answering, cleverly mimicking Rhia's antiquated mode of speech. "Beg pardon, milady, but whilst thou tell me who this knave is, and wherefore art thou so ill-humored with him?" Rhia slashed her broadsword through the air furiously. "Whilst thou scan thine orbs on this? I beseech ye, look at this!" she held up a sheet of lined paper disdainfully. Eschaton took it and quickly read through it, then read it again, a slow smirk appearing on her face. "Yes, milady, I do now see wherefore thou art in pursuit of yonder runaway. And yes, I have seen him." Tricode couldn't believe his ears! How could she tell Rhia he had hidden in here? "The knave ran to the storage room. Excluding magic, the knave has no chance to escape my lady. But why not wait till the morrow to waylay him. Allow him to lower his defenses, and so then strike." Rhia smiled, a calculating look on her face. "Upon my word! The fair feline encompasses a quick wit! Yes, I shall wait for rosy fingered dawn to rise from her dark divan. Thou art surely thine own truth-seeker!" Smiling to herself, Rhia walked out of the room, already imagining ways to get Tricode back for what he had written.  
  
"It's safe now, you can come down." Tricode sheepishly climbed down from where he had been hiding. Eschaton gave him an odd look, narrowing one eye and lifting one of her eyebrows. "And you accused us of being bad! What possessed you to write that?" Not looking into her hazel eyes, he mumbled "Temporary insanity?" making it sound like a question instead of an answer. Eschaton gave him an even odder look. "Temporary? Rhia gets mad at you everyday! And from reading that…my, my, my…what WERE you doing before you came here? Wait, don't answer that. I have a feeling I do NOT want to know." Duo climbed down from Dark Phoenix's shoulder, sidling up to Eschaton. "Nekomon, I'm feeling left out." She didn't bother to answer him. She just gave Tricode an appraising look. Unabashed at Eschaton's apparent unawareness of him, Duo decided to try harder, no longer caring that Tricode was there. He leaned over slightly and grabbed her around the waist, carrying her away on his shoulder.  
  
Tricode called after her, "What do I do? She'll MURDER me tomorrow!" Eschaton winked back at him as she was being carried away. "Don't worry, talk to me and D tomorrow morning at about seven, we'll be in the kitchen. And don't tell anyone about it, or Rhia will have both our heads for what I'm planning!" Tricode disappeared from sight as Duo turned a corner. Eschaton had learned from experience that when Duo picked her up, he wouldn't put her back down until he was good and ready. "Well, Shinigami. You got my attention, now what?" Duo only smiled. "You'll see. It's something I was planning before your rescue plan turned into my rescue plan. But what was in that note?" He swung her off of his shoulder, setting her on her feet once more. Eschaton just gave him a sly grin. "I'll tell you later. Now what were you planning?"  
  
"I gave you a chance to tell me. Now, I'm gunna carry you again, and you'll still have to tell me, and you'll have to wait to find out!" He picked her up again, grinning even broader than before. Eschaton heaved a gigantic sigh. "Oh dear…" "Yes?" said Duo. "No, not you, crazy, I meant, oh dear, as in, what is this cruel world coming to? What fate shall befall a pitiable naïve wretch such as myself, cruelly destined for a hard life and harder boyfriend by the wicked hands of fate. Ah me, oh my." Eschaton allowed herself to be carried off to the…kitchen? When Duo put her down, she looked around; it was empty, at least it seemed empty. Her sharp hearing detected a small rustle in the room next to the kitchen, and a stifled giggle. "I was about to bring you over here, but Tricode interrupted us, and then Rhia forgot herself and ran after him. Hold on, I think something's about to happen." Eschaton looked around at the doorway, but he grabbed her by the shoulders and wouldn't let her turn. "Come on, you'll ruin the surprise."  
  
Eschaton heard the sound of metal hitting tile, and unable to stop her wild instincts, she jumped and twisted around, unconscious of the fact that her claws were unsheathed. "SURPRISE!" Eschaton looked at the people standing in the doorway with a look that anyone could interpret. A look that said, 'You people have got to be kidding me.' She found her voice again and weakly asked a question. "What's this for?" Rhia was standing in the doorway, holding a small box. Bowing to Eschaton and presenting her with the box, she answered, a broad smile on her face. "Surely the fair feline's wits have not gone astray? Hast thou forgotten thine own birthday?" Eschaton picked up the box, a look of complete and total confusion on her face. "My birthday was over six months ago…and we never even think about it…why the sudden show of celebration?" Sage walked up to her, giving her a comically understanding pat on the shoulder. "We thought it would be a fun change, and we wanted to see how you would react. Hehe, you didn't disappoint us! Go on, open it! It's a present from all of us. I hope you don't expect more than one present, because you won't get it." Duo leaned down next to her ear and whispered in a tone only she could hear, "That's what she thinks."  
  
Eschaton laughed softly, then slowly began to open the box. She looked up. "You're making me nervous! I feel like something's going to jump out of the box and attack me!"  
  
Nothing jumped out and attacked her, but she could not have been anymore surprised if something had. A large, circular, dark pendant was in the box, hanging from a black collar. It glowed slightly when she touched it. The pendant was circular, with a hole in the middle. One side was brighter than the other, shining iridescently in the fluorescent light of the kitchen. Eschaton looked at it, turning it so that it reflected the light. "What is it," she asked in an awed voice. Sage smiled, taking it upon herself to answer. "It's Morpheus Thirteen. You fought well when you first used it, but weren't ready for it. You'll be able to use it even better than ever, but I suggest you not use the maximum effect anymore." Eschaton grinned somewhat sheepishly, then took off her old collar, and allowed Duo to put on the new one. She gave a small gasp, then the pendant began to glow a bright green color. Her eyes changed color once again, placing her under the effects of Morpheus. She smiled as she felt once again the euphoric emotions and feelings that came with Morpheus.  
  
And one thing that would have surprised her more than something jumping out of the box, is this: if she had known a girl named Hillary Lewis was watching as the author was typing up the story, serving to bother her and make her slightly nervous. The author always has liked it better if people would read her stories AFTER they were posted on www.fanfiction.net under the name, Randi of Eschaton. And I have no idea why Hillary wanted me to keep this in the story.  
  
  
  
Sorry about that interruption, I was writing during class, and someone was bothering me and watching while I kept typing, which, I might add, stopped my thought process for a few moments.  
  
Next chapter: prepare to get everyone in one base, then imagine the chaos of moose, tarantula, rhia, sage, Ririku, and alla other funny, crazy, people together with Nekomon…total funness!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
It should be up by Monday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
C ya, I gotta study for an algebra test. 


	13. Chapter thirteen

Chapter Thirteen: The Morpheus Effect  
  
The ash brown haired young woman growled softly to herself, angry at how she had allowed her target to escape. The silver mobile suit turned, and Shanaiha saw the flame tipped double scythe fly towards her, seemingly in slow motion, before the whip wrapped around the Libra's midriff, pulling her into the flaming scythe's path, destroying the black Libra she piloted. She gasped in surprise. The sim abruptly turned off, and the low, snarling voice of Denizen reached her sensitive ears. "That will not do, Wolf, that will not do. And I was always taught that if one wished to kill a cat, one must always call a dog. Am I to believe that this teaching is incorrect?" Shanaiha's dark eyes flashed angrily for a moment before she answered. "Sir, it won't happen in real life, I promise it won't."  
  
Denizen's clawlike hand lightly brushed her tanned cheek, sweeping a dark strand of hair out of her eyes. He then grabbed her by the throat, violently throwing her from the chair. He roared in anger. "It had better not. You had better kill her, and you had better hope your piloting skills improve!" She closed her ice green eyes in defeat, loathing herself for doing so, but he was her leader, and from her instincts, she knew not to look an alpha in the eyes when he didn't want to be looked in the eyes. But she still hated herself for doing so. "I give you my oath. She will not live past meeting me." He viciously kicked her in the side. "Get up, you idiot." A deep and well hidden rage flared up for a moment, but was quickly suppressed by her will, and she got to her feet.  
  
Denizen had been furious since the defeat of his Libra pilots. They weren't the only Libra pilots he had, and certainly not the only Libras, but to die fighting a little cat bitch? What a waste of machinery! And then there was that damn virus. It originated from Base Terra, spreading through the network, infecting ever file. It had been almost impossible to stop. Denizen's technicians ended up having to erase all of the hard drives that were connected with the network, including the hard drive in his own personal computer. It was very troublesome to regain all of the files the computers had been programmed with afterwards. He wanted to find whoever was responsible for it, but Eschaton's death, even if she had nothing to do with it, would be a reasonable substitute. He licked his fang-like teeth, smiling wickedly with the thought of her death. Vengeance would be so sweet! Shanaiha watched Denizen closely, her tongue running over her long deadly canines. She wished she could kill him, but she knew her boundaries. She wasn't ready to take him on yet.  
  
  
  
Steve watched in bewilderment as the cat-girl seemed to grow in confidence and strength, her eyes glowing with hidden power. "Bloody hell, Ace-ka-tone! You look like you could take on the blighters single 'anded!" Moose elbowed him in the stomach. He glared over at her. "I kin take crocs an' the like, but I can't take Mooses!" Eschaton shook her head slightly and blinked, making her eyes dim nearly back to normal. She grinned at hearing Steve.  
  
"G'day, eh mate? Don't you mean moose? I believe that's the plural form. Course, I could be wrong, and it could only be the plural form in Austradianish, but blimey! Ya might as well learn the proper forms, mate." Everyone in the room laughed at this. Ririku grinned, then gave a comical look of terror as she thought of something. "Oh no! What have we done? If Eschaton caused so much trouble before getting Morpheus, what are we doing, giving her the everyday form?" this only served to cause more laughter.  
  
Later that night, after almost everyone had gone to sleep, Eschaton was sitting with her laptop on her stomach as she was lying in bed, the pendant in the (D:) drive. It was a miniature cd, and she was studying the programming. It was in binary. Sighing to herself, she muttered aloud. "Honestly, why Sage loves to make things difficult is beyond me. Couldn't she have used at least html? The ones and zeros are driving me insane!" A soft knock sounded from her door. Closing her laptop with a click and pulling the blankets closer to her, she answered, "It's open."  
  
Duo opened her door. "Whatchya doin Nekomon? It's three in the morning!" He sat down next to her on the edge of the bed. Scowling fiercely, she pushed him off onto the floor, sweetly asking him what he was doing at three in the morning, barging into some poor, tired young lady's bedroom. Unperturbed by her false anger, he got back on the bed, roughly pushing her to the side and grabbing her laptop, putting it on her bedside table. "I did knock, it's not like I just slammed the door open, you SAID I could come in!" Eschaton nudged him playfully. "I never said that! I just said the door was open!" This could have gone on for quite some time had not Eschaton's laptop made a peculiar garbled sound. " kcab rouy revo gnikool ,dionarap a ekil stI." Eschaton laughed at Duo's confusion. "That was the paranoid line in 'Papercut.' One day, for some strange reason, I decided I couldn't sleep or eat unless that line was a sound effect, and backwards. That sound means that something just opened up on my computer. Toss it over here." Duo passed her the laptop, putting his chin on her shoulder and looking to see what had come up on the screen.  
  
A window saying "Morpheus XIII" in bright green letters against a black background appeared. Eschaton clicked on the marquis. Pages upon pages of ones and zeros appeared. "She did it again, I know she did it on purpose! She knew that I would try to figure out what this thing was programmed to do, and that I'd get past the first code, but ANOTHER????" She spent two long hours going through the code, copying the program onto her hard drive and converting the binary code into html. She finally sighed and let her shoulders slump dejectedly, indicating defeat. She muttered angrily, glaring evilly at her computer. "You may have won the battle, but you and your legion of blood sucking, memory eating, binary-spirited demons will NOT win the war!" She turned off her computer and closed it, a bit harder than she usually would. Taking the laptop from her lap, Duo opened up the (D:) drive. He took out the pendant, placing it back on its collar and putting it around Eschaton's neck. "Come on, enough about computers, ain't ya gunna tell me what the note said?" Eschaton allowed an evil smile to penetrate her face. She motioned Duo to lean closer to her, then began whispering in his ear. His eyes widened, then he almost choked in laughter. After she finished telling him, Duo asked another question when he found his voice again. "And what are you and D planning on doing this morning?"  
  
She smiled evilly once again. "When I was a little kid, in fact, I was about four at the time, I saw a cartoon with a dog in it. The bad guy kept running through doorways, and as soon as he ran through one, another door would open, and out he would come again. In the end, it turned out there were two bad guys. I have an idea. D and I have always enjoyed competing to see who was better at disguising herself. Well, this time, we'll both be Tricode, and we'll basically be doing the same thing. Whether you realize it or not, and many of the people in the base don't, almost all of the rooms are connected by air conditioning vents, and they are also connected by passages. If two people are good at it, they can time it so it seems like when one run's into one door, the other is running out of another door less than ten seconds later. If we can keep Rhia busy, we should be able to quietly sneak out behind her. But if someone tells her…well, she's sentenced me to death by decapitation more than once. But I always challenge her to double or nothing in a duel, and I know how to manipulate the cards to my advantage, if you know what I mean."  
  
Eschaton looked at the clock. It was five thirty. "I'd better get D up and explain to her, we can go get one good look at Tricode, then we can look into my little closet of fun to find the right materials for disguises. This will be HILARIOUS!" She playfully pushed Duo off of the bed and jumped over him, running in her baggy pajamas to D's room, her large black shirt with the picture of the sleeping tiger streaming out behind her, partially tucked into the very large black boxer shorts with the yellow cat's eyes practically glowing on the back. She stopped for a moment, trying to remember where D's room was. Her tail was twitching in her concentration. "Try turning left!" called Duo from his spot on the bed. She turned left. When Eschaton reached D's door, Duo heard her tap on it lightly. "Hey, D. We have a level five and seven tenths emergency, wanna play a joke on Rhia?" Duo got up, smiling. He didn't want to miss the joke, and it promised to be a good one!  
  
Shanaiha paced around her small room impatiently. The attack was in two days, but she had never been nervous about an attack before. But then again, this wasn't a normal attack, and she wasn't nervous, at least not in the way the word was defined. She had been ordered to find and destroy only one person, then to destroy the base, however, this person was like her; genetically altered and advanced. She sat at her computer and read the profile on Eschaton, the leader of Black Star's Solar Base. She was an even five feet tall, had hazel eyes, retractable claws, fangs, and up until her imprisonment, had reddish brown hair, but it was now silver. There was a picture that had been taken of her a month after her capture. She looked very bad in that picture, hardly able to stand on her feet but Shanaiha could see an enraged fire burning in the girl's hazel eyes, burning at Denizen, who was standing next to her, his clawed hand upraised for another vicious slap. Shanaiha clicked next, and another picture came up. This was the before she escaped. Eschaton was lying bound on the floor of the cell she had shared with Jenison. She looked completely out of it, her eyes looking blankly at the camera, her hair spread out, hiding some of the cuts, bruises, and many other wounds covering her body. Jenison had ripped a rag from his already torn clothing, dampening it with his own water to spread on her forehead. Shanaiha shivered involuntarily when she clicked the next button the final time. This picture was of Eschaton when she had been discovered. Denizen was standing over her, both he and the girl covered in blood and wounds. She was tied to a chair, glaring at Denizen. Shanaiha then clicked play and a video the Hermes satellite had picked up from the last Libra that Eschaton had destroyed started. The silver blur was speeding through the ranks of mobile suits, destroying at least one with each sweep of the scythe and the whip. She snorted. No one could be that fast, but it was true. Even her faster than average wolf reflexes couldn't trace the movements. She sighed. This would most definitely be difficult.  
  
Tricode was sitting in the large kitchen, dozing with his back to the lower- level oven. He was bundled up inside of his long black trench coat. D brought up her camera as Eschaton and Duo woke Tricode up. It was difficult. "No, just, just, f-five more minutes…" he mumbled before sleepily pulling the long coat closer to him and turning so his side was to the trio. Eschaton gave an exasperated sigh, then suddenly smiled in an extremely suspicious manner. "Hey, could someone hand me some ice? I have an idea." Duo reached into the freezer and pulled out an ice cube tray. He handed it to her wordlessly. Baring the claws on her right hand, she quietly broke the ice out of the tray, putting it into a large bowl and putting the Elendium claws in it, carefully burying them in the mound of ice. After about a minute and a half, she pulled out her claws, shivering. "O-ok, d-D. You ca…you ca, ca, ca, y-you CAN…." She sneezed softly, the sneeze ending in a small squeak. Duo chuckled. "I didn't know tigers sneezed." Eschaton shook her head, and answered. "C'mon, crazy. Did you really think that? Besides, at this moment, m-my hand is an even negative two degrees centigrade…translated into E-English, that means I'm cold! My, my, my. D, y-you can take the picture in a second." She stooped to the ground next to Tricode.  
  
Her claws moved closer to the side of his head, their destination a small patch of skin with minuscule scales on his neck. Pausing a second, she grinned at Duo and D. Then allowed the freezing cold Elendium claws to touch his neck. Tricode leapt to his feet, and a picture was taken of him as he screeched, "YOWWWWW! 'ey, lemme oudda 'ere!" Eschaton had put her left hand over his mouth, muffling his voice. She pulled her hand away and allowed him to talk. "What the hell were you thinking? I thought you were going to help me, not freeze me! I don't think I need the help of someone who attacks a poor guy when he's asleep!" completely unabashed she answered him, managing to keep her shivering under control. "Ok then. Well, I dunno bout D, but Duo and I are tired, so if you don't mind, I think we'll just go back to sleep. You can figure out what to do about Rhia on your own. Toodle-oo!" Tricode's eyes widened. "Wait, wait, it's ok, it's ok! I don't mind the fact that you nearly gave me frostbite, I really don't!" Eschaton, Duo, and D all laughed at this. D's camera was digital, so the picture could be viewed immediately. "Eschaton, I need your laptop. My sandisk reader is out of order and won't work on my laptop. It keeps saying the reader's not connected, but I just think it's the piece of shit computer that I have." Eschaton looked down at the floor. "Um, I knew there was something I had forgotten. I'll go get it, but we'll have to wait a bit for it to turn on. I got a little angry at it, so…it wasn't shut down properly."  
  
Eschaton jogged to her room, Duo behind her. Tricode and D, in the meantime, walked behind them, talking. "Do you really think this will work? Rhia's smart, she might figure it out that there are more than one of me…" D didn't bother to turn around as she answered him. "Eschaton is good at this type of thing, and so am I. There's a pretty good chance she won't figure it out for a while, at least until she notices that one of you is taller than the other. Whether you've noticed or not, I'm taller than her by about an inch and a half. But, if we 'play our cards right' as Eschaton would say, the joke should continue for at least half an hour. And that's an 'at least' estimate." They passed by a closed door, and there was a large crash inside of the empty, or so they had thought, room.  
  
Duo reached out and grabbed Eschaton by the shoulder, causing her to spin around and face him. She didn't look surprised that he did. "Well hello there Shinigami. And what would you be doing here?" He threw his arm over her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. "Why are you hurrying so fast, Nekomon? What, do you think the devil's on your heels?" She smiled dazzlingly at him, her sharp white teeth gleaming. "Why do you think, crazy? I might not have had the devil at my heels, but I have the god of death on my shoulder. Besides, if I don't hurry so we can get our disguises right, the Queen of the Broadsword will behead the four of us." Duo leaned over so he was nose to nose with Eschaton, teasing her. "But I don't have anything to do with the evil doings of the Tricode Trio. Why would she go after me, my crazy little Nekomon." She pretended she was going to bite him, lunging carefully so she would miss and closing her mouth with a loud snap as he was straightening up again. "Because I would tell her the god of death put me up to it, my large Shinigami, why else? Come on crazy, we'd better hurry so D and Tricode don't think we decided to have some fun other than pranking Rhia, if you get my meaning."  
  
Duo leaned over once again and kissed her softly on the nose, then grinned evilly and kissed her again on the lips. Of course he knew what she meant, and that didn't sound too bad to him, which he made sure she knew. "That doesn't sound like such a bad idea to me, Nekomon!" She slapped him playfully. "You're not getting away with calling me crazy that easily!" He pushed her against the stairwell wall, giving her a look of comical anger. "You called me crazy first, and you pushed me off the bed earlier." Giggling as she pushed him away, she had a ready answer. "Yeah, but then you picked me up and tossed me to the other side of the bed so you could sit down!" Duo kissed her again and they started making out, but a large crash sounded from the floor above them, followed by a low shriek. Eschaton jumped, her eyes darting around. "Duo, that sounded like Moose! Come on, hurry!" She dashed up the stairs and into an open door, then skidded to a stop beside D and Tricode. Duo reached her a few seconds later and looked at her face. Her eyes were open wide in shock and surprise. Duo turned and looked, turning away after a moment. Then he did a double take and stared, beginning to chuckle uncontrollably. Eschaton found her voice. "Moose! What ARE you doing in there?"  
  
  
  
Ok, so maybe it wasn't in this chapter, but it should be in before long, don't worry, you'll all see the insanity of Nekomon with her crazy friends before the end of the first book in the series, as I have come to call it, and wait'll you read what Moose was doing! It would make even Wufei smile, although it doesn't since it has something to do with him, if you know what I mean.  
  
You know what's a bit annoying? Whenever I say something will be in the next chapter, it never is, but when I say its coming in two or three chapters, it always ends up in the next chapter. I'm going to stop giving out sneak previews so it won't seem like I'm…"falsely dealing…" as Nekomon would say if she was messing around with her blasting cards. But I think you'll like what's coming up next! Cuz I definitely think I will, and if I do, well, then I'll keep it in the story, if not, I'll just have to rewrite it….again…  
  
Oh well, I'll probably have this and chapters 14 and 15 up by February fifth. That's my friend's birthday. And she, I might add, is Sage. So if you like Sage, at all, just email realmofeschaton@hotmail.com to give her a happy bday message, ok? Alright, even if you don't and only read me asking you, could you still do that? 


	14. Chapter fourteen

Chapter Fourteen: Wolf-Woman Meets Cat Woman  
  
Moose was hiding behind an overturned table, her back to the door. In her hand, there was a syringe with a clear liquid inside of it. Wufei was standing with his hand protectively holding the crook of his left elbow, looking enraged. "You, you…How dare you!" Moose cowered down lower, completely hidden from his view. They both looked up when Eschaton practically shouted, "Moose, what ARE you doing in there?" Moose stood up angrily, falling over as soon as she had gotten to her feet. Tricode reached down and helped her back up. "I was trying to give him an antibiotic! He's catching a cold and came down here for some medicine, but I was here, and then I told him I'd give him something that would make him feel better, got this out, and walked over there. But then, that, that, that, PSYCHOTIC SEXIST basically threw the table at me!" She glared at Wufei, who glared right back at her. "I am NOT psychotic! I do not enjoy it when people come at me with needles and don't tell me they're going to use them on me!"  
  
Eschaton couldn't help it. She laughed. And laughed…and laughed. The situation was absolutely ridiculous. Gaining control over herself, she managed to gasp out, "A-and when were you…when were you…*splutter*…WHEN were you planning on telling Moose that? She's our doctor! She has to n-n- know that!" She laughed again, sitting down on the floor with tears streaming down her face. Duo reached down and helped her up, throwing his arm over her shoulder and pulling her close to him again. He was laughing too. "And is this one of your many facets that the other Gundams didn't know about? Don't tell me, the next one we find out about is how much you enjoy…*laughter*…how much you enjoy crocheting socks and other…!" Wufei threw the nearest thing at hand towards Duo; a box of tongue depressors. This merely served to cause more laughter as the box hit Duo on the forehead, its contents showering both Duo and Eschaton. Wufei stalked out of the room, still glowering at everyone. He muttered as he walked down the stairs to his room. "Crazy, no good women and long haired hippy idiots!"  
  
When the laughter died down, Moose suddenly became aware of the fact that it was very early in the morning, and Eschaton was in her pajamas. Duo was half dressed, wearing pajama bottoms and a white undershirt. D and Tricode, on the other hand, were fully dressed, Tricode wearing his usual trench coat and jumpsuit, D wearing blue jean shorts and a pink spaghetti strap shirt. Moose looked at Eschaton and Duo suspiciously. Noticing the look, Eschaton made an expression of mock anger, then smiled slyly. "Don't look at me like that! What would it matter to you what I did at night? Besides, what were you doing in here so early in the morning with the psycho sexist and a syringe? Playing doctor?" Spluttering indignantly at this, Moose began to walk over to Eschaton, her mouth open as she began an angry tirade. "How dare you! I'm your doctor, so it DOES matter, and I don't play doctor, I a-aaaaaah!" Moose tripped over her feet, again, and was once again helped up by Tricode, who winked at her. "I wouldn't be asking them what they were doing, uh-uh, not me! I walked in on them when they were alone on the Phoenix, and I'm telling you! Now I know why everyone avoids the hangar like the plague when they aren't in sight!" Now it was Eschaton's turn to splutter. D interrupted her. "Eschaton, we need your laptop! Can you get going? Tricode and I will be waiting in the hangar, so hurry, Rhia gets up in a little, and if she sees Tricode, well, from what I've heard, she'll want to kill him, and us if we're with him."  
  
Eschaton turned and sauntered out of the room, her tail lashing. Duo watched her walk out of the room, then looked back at Moose. He seemed to realize that Eschaton had walked out of the room and dashed out after her much to the amusement of the others. At least to the amusement of D and Tricode. Moose just glared at Duo's rapidly retreating back, a look of suspicion on her face. As soon as Duo was out of sight, she turned to D and asked what was going on. "Well, this is a long story. Maybe you should come with us." Moose followed them to the hangar, her look of disbelief growing with each passing moment.  
  
Duo once again reached out to stop Eschaton, this time speeding up slightly and grabbing her 'round the middle, sweeping her off her feet. She was laughing uncontrollably when he carried her to her room. He set her down just outside the doorway. "Alright now! I came here to make sure you didn't make any unnecessary stops on the way to get your laptop! Now hurry up so I can go back to sleep!" Eschaton pretended to nod solemnly, then yawned as she picked up her laptop. "Mmmmm, I'm tired too. Maybe I can get some sleep too once we're through with Rhia. Unless she sentences me to death again. Then I'll have to keep awake. No decaf for me!"  
  
Duo laughed and took her laptop from her hands, carrying it under one arm and throwing the other around her shoulder. Eschaton WAS tired. She stumbled along with him until they reached the hangar. Moose ran up. "Eschaton! Rhia's going to KILL you! What gave you this idea?" Eschaton merely smiled and seemed to wake up a little more. Duo handed her the laptop, and she plopped herself down on the ground and began booting it up. It took forever. "C'mon you evil demented diabolical demonic electrical box! Ooooh, wait, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't restart…Aaaaaah! How could you do that to me? Why, why, why?" She carefully closed the laptop as it restarted itself, which was right when she got to the part where she typed in the password. She sighed. "I am now following rule number one in the Cat's Book of Laptop Care. 'When laptop misbehaves, use of extreme force is readily opted for.' Prepare to die, demons!" She slammed her fist into the side of the laptop, making sure it was the left hand so she wouldn't destroy her computer. She opened the screen. It abruptly switched from the 'Windows is loading' screen to the sign in screen. She typed in her password. Smiling, Eschaton asked D for her sandisk reader and the flash media card.  
  
D smiled slightly before handing her the digital camera equipment. Eschaton muttered to herself as she plugged in the reader and inserted the flash card. "Ok, c'mon, c'mon, you can do it…you can do it…easy, steady……steady. Don't run out off memory…easy does it! YES!" she whooped. "I'm in! Alright, here's the pic. D, lets go to my closet of fun and get the right stuff. We'll be out in a bit boys and girl." She winked at Duo. "Don't worry crazy, you'll get some sleep soon." D and Eschaton walked away, Eschaton carrying her laptop, opening the screen now and then and giving the computer death threats. "You turn off, and you die, I'm serious! I'll take away your power cord and run you till you die! No, even better! I'll take your batteries! How's that sound, huh? Sounds good to me!" Tricode, Duo, and Moose stared after them. Tricode's voice was full of confusion. "Does she always do that?" Duo answered. "Only when her laptop acts up. It's a way of life around here, so get used to it."  
  
Eschaton and D returned twenty minutes later. Duo looked at them, then at Tricode, then at the two disguised girls again. They looked alike! One of the Tricodes was carrying a cd player. He guessed that was Eschaton. She had somehow disguised herself to look like him, as had D. Duo guessed her tail was wrapped around her waist, hidden by the trench coat. The original Tricode looked at his watch. "It's eight in the morning. Rhia should be up any second now." Rhia's voice was heard. "Tricode, knave, whither art thou? Come, thou must surely wish to hear my mind!" The three Tricodes turned. The real Tricode was taller than the other two, and one of the Tricodes shorter than the real Tricode by about three inches. "How will you fool her? You're all different sizes!" Medium Tricode turned, her voice revealing that it was D. "If we go fast enough, she won't notice. Ok Eschaton. You're up first. Good luck." Small Tricode grinned and nodded, the patch of scales on her face covered by a long black line, as on the real Tricode. "Ok guys, you might want to hide. I'm not sure what Rhia will do." Giving the others enough time to get out of sight, she clicked the play button on her cd player.  
  
A Linkin Park song began, somehow blaring through the base speakers, filling every room with sound. "It starts with love. One thing, I don't know why, it doesn't even matter how hard you try!…" Rhia gave an angry snarl and ran into the hangar, her broadsword waving. "Thou foul knave! Thou foolish wretch! Thou shalt suffer!" Careful to stay away from things that would reveal how much shorter she was than the real Tricode, Eschaton lead her from the room. D came out from behind Tricode's Libra. She winked at the others, then snuck to the door, which Rhia had closed. She waited until she heard a door slam, then opened the door and ran out, yelling, "Hey, sweetie! Did you want to talk to me?" She ran across the hall and ducked into a doorway. Just as Rhia was about to open that door, another door opened, and a voice exactly like the one D used to emulate Tricode was heard. "Come on honey! I'm over here! My, you've gotten slow, maybe too much chocolate?"  
  
Duo heard another door open. "What the hell is going on?" it was Sage. Duo ran to the door and grabbed her by the arm, yanking her into the hangar as Rhia charged, sword raised above her head; she no longer cared who she was chasing. Moose began explaining what was going on. An evil grin spread across Sage's face. "Well, if it ain't true that my older sounding, but actually younger brother hasn't found a love of his life! And if she doesn't want to decapitate you, then my name ain't Sage!" The four friends walked over to where the vid monitors for the hall in front of the hangar were set up. It was a hilarious sight. Rhia was running around, sword held aloft, and each time she started to open a door, another door opened, and out ran another Tricode. The two Tricodes began reciting the letter, much to Tricode's embarrassment and Rhia's rage. "My dear, darling Rhia!" slam…open…"I dream of you every night!" slam…open…"You are the love of my life." Slam…open…"And I will prove myself to you." Slam…open…"When the morning sun rises…" slam…open…"come to me in the hangar." Slam…open…"I will be waiting for you there." Slam…open…Tricode began blushing an incredible ruby color. The quotes continued on and on, much to the amusement of the people in on the trick. D was right, it continued for about an hour. Rhia was panting, hardly able to hold her sword, much less swing it above her head.  
  
Neko-Tricode ran out of a door, then started laughing at the exhausted Rhia. Rhia caught her and began to swing her sword, but missed when she ducked, barely clipping the black hair that was a part of her disguise. The wig fell off, revealing the silver hair that was intricately braided and hidden under the wig. Eschaton fell over, holding her sides while she laughed, and tears were streaming down her face at the look of bewilderment on Rhia's face. Rhia dropped her sword in amazement, and it clattered against a door. D ran out of another door, mistaking the sound of the falling sword for Eschaton slamming another door shut. Rhia looked a little confused, to say the least. It took longer than an hour to explain, and 'In the End' was playing over the base speaker system the entire time, making it difficult to hear anything.  
  
Tricode hid himself when Rhia walked into the hangar. Rhia had a thoughtful look on her face. "Thy must surely be a child of fortune for thy friends to aid thee in such a fashion." Popping his head into sight, Tricode gulped and answered. "Yeah Rhia, I'm a pretty important guy around here. Ask Sage. I taught her everything she knows about hacking." Sage turned a rather strange color and stomped towards her brother. Tricode backed away slowly, then turned and ran behind Rhia and the others as Sage began screaming. "You did not teach me how to hack! That was all me! That is natural talent! You haven't changed a bit! How completely and unbelievably typical!" Rhia, as unpredictable as usual, drew her sword and advanced on Sage, causing her to pull out Ivory and Ebony. Rhia then took her small revolver in her other hand. Eschaton jumped in between them. "Ok, think on this. Rhia, you have a sharp object and a gun. Sage, you have two guns. Can the outcome be good? No. For one thing, you'll probably end up shooting me!" Sage laughed at this and holstered her weapons, and even Rhia smiled as she sheathed her sword and put her revolver back in its holster.  
  
Eschaton yawned. She was tired, and it was about eight in the morning. "I say we all go to sleep and figure out what the hell is going on later in the afternoon. In fact, wake me up when its tomorrow." She stumbled off into her room. The others gradually dispersed to go to sleep, Rhia and Tricode leaving last. "Why didst thou write the note? Surely thou couldst have told me thyself?" Tricode shrugged. "I thought you would try to behead me." Rhia grinned and answered him, surprisingly in normal speech. "Well, I might have. But I dunno bout you, I'm starving! Let's go get sumpthin to eat!" They walked hand in hand to the kitchen and made a gigantic sandwich, cutting it in half to share. Steven walked in, his eyes widening in surprise at the sight.  
  
The alarm went off. There was an intruder in the base.  
  
Shanaiha prowled around unseen by the soldiers who were rushing around. None of them seemed scared in the least, but each seemed to be following his or her own plan. Shanaiha was surprised. How could she have so many soldiers? She caught a glimpse of a figure curled up on a bed inside of a room, completely undisturbed by the blaring alarm. Her finger twitched against the dagger in her sleeve. Looking around to make sure no one saw her going into the room, she slipped in, as silently as a shadow. There was a sudden movement. The sleeping girl's ear twitched. Shanaiha paused, perfectly still. She heard footsteps running down the hall towards the room. Her eyes darting around, Shanaiha searched for a place to hide, then saw a closet near the bed. She leapt in as someone ran into the room. "Nekomon! Wake up! The alarm's going off!" The girl woke up with a start. "Huh?" she said sleepily. The long haired man rushed over to her and grabbed her around the stomach, tossing her onto his shoulder and began to run. "Wait! Something's in my room!"  
  
Duo snorted. "What do you mean? How can something be in your room? I didn't see anything when I came in." She wriggled around and managed to slip from his grasp, landing catlike on the floor. She walked over to the closet and opened the door.  
  
It was empty. Eschaton shrugged and walked out the door with Duo. Shanaiha lowered herself from the shelf she had climbed on to escape being detected. That was close. she thought to herself. Maybe I can tell Denizen she was too well protected. That should work, or I can run away from him… she walked out the door. A cold voice whispered in her ear. "Stop right there, Wolf woman." Shanaiha froze, then twitched her wrists and two daggers were in her hands. She jumped around and lashed out at Eschaton. Eschaton put up her right hand to block the blade from slashing her throat. Her hand began streaming blood. "She was right, I can't feel pain in this hand. Yay for me, sad for you." The two genetically enhanced young women began to fight, Eschaton being careful to stay too close for Shanaiha to throw the daggers. Eschaton was nervous. She might be good at hand to hand in mobile suits, but she fought best with no rules and complete freedom. She was given a hefty kick to the stomach when she tried to punch the woman. That's it, no more boxing for me! She then decided to fight with no rules, and rule followers be damned.  
  
Duo stood watching his girlfriend fight a strange woman. The woman was getting the upper hand, but Eschaton began to fight street style. Using her long claws to scratch and kicking viciously at the woman, Eschaton somehow got one of the daggers from the woman, but the woman lashed out, slashing her left palm and causing her to drop the dagger. Duo ran back through the doorway and grabbed the thick flat belt Eschaton wore when she was fighting. "Nekomon! Catch this!" Eschaton gave the woman a vicious slash on the arm and leapt into the air, catching the belt. She didn't have enough time to put it on, so she opened it up and grabbed two of the throwing stars.  
  
Shanaiha stepped back, studying the cat-woman in front of her. She had been tossed a large belt by the young man who had started to carry her from her room. The wolf-woman blinked in surprise when she recognized him as Duo Maxwell, one of the Gundam Pilots. Her opponent took two glittering circular blades from the belt and threw the belt down on the floor, kicking it backwards towards Duo. The women prowled around each other in a circle, both completely unaware of the blaring alarm. They rushed at each other.  
  
The base shuddered as it was hit by the blast from the Libras beam cannons. Explosions began, causing the entire base to heat up.  
  
Eschaton and Shanaiha both froze for a moment, weapons upraised to attack each other. That was enough for Duo. He ran to the women, and grabbing both, dashed to the hangar and tossed them into a shuttle. "Phoenix, auto- pilot route to the Mediterranean Base. Attack Libras until everyone can get away. Auto Morpheus maximum effect on AI. Automatic launch now!" The silver mobile suit flew out of the hangar, attacking the Libras with amazing speed. Eschaton grumbled to herself. "I should really make Phoenix stop listening to you; she listens to you better than she does me." She looked at the woman sitting next to her and wordlessly got up, grabbing a medical case. Taking out a few bandages for the various cuts on her body, she tossed the rest of the box to the female soldier. "Nice weather we're having. Would you mind telling me who the hell you are, what the hell you're doing here, and why the hell you're so good at fighting."  
  
As Shanaiha began speaking, the shuttle took off, flying through space. Duo pressed the golden button, and the arrived near the Earth in about half an hour. When they hit the water, Eschaton was staring open-mouthed at Shanaiha. "You mean Denizen is experimenting? By the fates, the galaxy is in danger." 


	15. Chapter fifteen

Chapter Fifteen: Cats Aren't That Fond of Water  
  
Eschaton shivered as she spoke. But not entirely due to what she was saying. Although the cat DNA might have belonged to a tiger, she wasn't fond of being completely immersed under water for any longer than she had to be. "Well, I understand why you went after me. I would probably be convinced to obey Denizen if he threatened me like that. But then again, I don't even really listen to myself, so I would probably end up not obeying him. So, you were a human who was combined with a wolf a few years ago? Amazing, I thought Denizen, Tricode, and I were the only people who's genes were combined with animal DNA. You learn something new every day." Shanaiha looked at her in disbelief. "We were trying to kill each other a while ago, and now, you're acting like that never happened? Why do you trust me so easily?" Eschaton shrugged, her tail twitching distractedly. "Two things. One, I trust people. Two, I have a good feeling about you. Where's your mobile suit?"  
  
Shanaiha's eyes darted from her to the radio chip hardly visible on her watch. How could she know? Will she know about the radio chip next? She put her hand over the chip, giving it a careful squeeze and effectively crushing it. Of course, I had to come in a mobile suit. "It was on autopilot attacking the base, but I'm not sure where it is now." Eschaton looked at her own watch. "Phoenix should have passed by us by now." She took off the pendant that had been hanging on her collar. Holding it aloft in her right hand, she closed her eyes. It glowed green. Shanaiha gave her a look of semi-amusement. "I know, it's a bit theatrical, but then again, most good technologies are. My right hand has different sensors in it. The pendant locates the Phoenix's signal and sends them down through the wire nerves in my hands, which is then relayed to my brain. It looks like a black Libra is causing some trouble. Let me guess: that's yours. Phoenix, cease attack on Black Libra. Capture it without damaging it and bring it to the Mediterranean Base. Morpheus, deactivate." She put the pendant on her collar. "Sorry about the capturing part, but you will need a mobile suit to fight. You can be like Richard, Steven, and Tricode and redesign the Libra. Finally! We're here!"  
  
The shuttle came to a stop, docking inside of a large water-filled chamber. The bay doors closed, and the water began slowly draining out of the room. The moment the shuttle doors opened, Eschaton jumped out, happy to be out of the small shuttle. Shanaiha followed her, and then Duo stumbled out of the shuttle, yawning. "Ok, Nekomon, next time, you carry me, drive, and I'll sit in the back, talking." Eschaton laughed and pounced on Duo, hugging him. He was nearly knocked off his feet. A red light began flashing, and an alarm sounded again. "Warning, the next craft is approaching the bay. All personnel in the air chamber must leave for security deck C." Eschaton grabbed both Duo's and Shanaiha's hands, pulling them out of the chamber. "Follow me! I know where to go!"  
  
Denizen looked at the damage reports morosely. The silver mobile suit had destroyed all of his Libras, but captured the black Libra the wolf-woman piloted. And it looked like Shanaiha had failed. The base was not destroyed, and all of the shuttles, skimmers, and other various escape crafts, (including mobile suits), had managed to escape from the attackers. He slammed his fist onto his desk, roaring in anger. "Why must I be surrounded by such imbeciles!"  
  
Eschaton, however, was not thinking about imbeciles. She was introducing Shanaiha to her friends. "How did you meet her again?" Eschaton grinned at Shanaiha mischievously. "You might say I just ran into her on the way to the shuttle." Shanaiha returned the grin, but she didn't like being surrounded by so many strangers. Her eyes looked through the large crowd disinterestedly. She glanced at the back of the crowd and continued her visual sweep, the abruptly yanked her eyes back to the back. She had caught a glimpse of a messy-haired brunette. Looking at him again, she thought to herself, Hey, he's cute…Eschaton had finished introducing her. Glancing back to make sure she wouldn't be missed, she slipped off the stage and made her way to the messy haired brunette. "Hey there hottie. I'm Shanaiha, but you can call me Shai-Shai. What's your name?" He looked at her, his eyes and voice betraying no emotions as he spoke. "I'm Heero Yuy."  
  
Quatre and Trowa were in the hangar, going over their mobile suits. "They're holding up pretty well in this base. I'm a bit surprised. I expected it to be slightly damp. But Eschaton designed it pretty well." A voice sounded from the doorway. "Thanks, but I didn't design it. You should be thanking Ririku and Angeline for that. Angeline did the decorating and Ririku did the main design." Eschaton sauntered into the room. She was holding her laptop in her hands. It emitted a beep. "Damn it! How could you do this to me? That's it, I'm going to run you down till you DIE!" she opened her laptop and retyped her password when the login screen came up. She began banging on the keys, muttering to herself. "Stupid laptop! Doesn't realize what a good life it has, why, I've seen other laptops that would kill to be here. All the AC power it wants, a network, wireless internet, extra memory chips by the handful. And all this one does is turn itself off and back on again! And you even cussed me out last week! How could you do that to me? Well? And how come you scream at me? Why???" Trowa and Quatre didn't even look over as she was ranting at her laptop. They had gotten used to it, as had everyone, except for Shanaiha.  
  
Shanaiha walked into the room with Heero. He was unusually talkative. "The blonde is Quatre. The brunette is Trowa. This is where we keep the mobile suits." he closed his mouth and stopped talking. Shanaiha stared at Eschaton as she muttered darkly to her computer, banging on it intermittently and occasionally screaming death threats. Ignition apparently heard her from across the hall. She walked in and stood next to Heero and Shanaiha. "You know, it would probably work better if you didn't download so much. But if you only downloaded emulators, then its definitely the computer and save the emulators to the network before you reformat the hard drive. You don't want to lose the emulators." Eschaton looked up and grinned at Ignition. "How did I know that would be your advice, how DID I know? Its okay, I just erased the temporary internet files and emptied the history folders, so I got five gigs of memory back. There was a lot of junk in there. I had less than a hundred megs of memory this morning. I think I can get it to work properly again." She clicked the mouse a few times and punched out a few keyboard commands before turning it off. "I was seeing why it wouldn't turn on. Apparently, its become technologically dependant upon a screensaver. In other words: my computers a screensaver junkie. I think it gets high on the screensaver. That's all I need. A computer that won't work unless its stoned." Ignition and Quatre laughed while Trowa and Heero just barely smiled. Shanaiha just looked around in confusion. Eschaton got up and patter her on the arm. "It's okay, I confuse myself too. Its perfectly natural." Shanaiha grinned mischievously and made a rare joke. "No, I was just surprised. I used to have a laptop. Same problems and everything. I just didn't think that it could have been a screensaver addict. I sent it back to its family, but it still writes to me sometimes." The others, even Heero, laughed.  
  
Havoc was sitting alone in the lounge, as close as she could get to the fire without being burned. She had a pencil in her hand and was putting it over the flames, chuckling insanely when pink eraser began melting and the metal surrounding the eraser began getting discolored. Steven walked in. "What the bloody 'ell are ya doin, 'Avoc?" She didn't answer; she was having too much fun. Steven watched her for a few minutes, then took out a pen. "'Ey, 'Avoc. Wanna see what 'appens if ya do that to a pen?" Havoc looked as though it were her lucky day. "Sure!" Steven handed the pen to her, and she put it over the fire, holding it with a pair of fire tongs. They both watched, completely absorbed by the sight of the flames licking at the pen.  
  
Angeline was sitting alone in the cockpit of her mobile suit, Lethally Blonde. She was very attractive, her bright blonde hair falling about her shoulders and perfectly setting off her skin tone. Her mobile suit was small and slender for a mobile suit. The proportions were closer to those of a human than any other mobile suit the others had ever seen. She was cleaning the long, deadly laser pistols that were her favorite weapons. Her mobile suit was a baby blue color, with some pink. The wings, shield, and laser cannons were shiny and golden. A strange design ran down the mobile suit. It looked like pink roses connected to each other by a single vine, the pink color of the roses contrasting sharply to the baby blue mobile suit. She couldn't help but snort slightly when she saw the others female pilots and soldiers flirting with all of the males they could find in the base. The guys were practically breathing it in. Men are such pigs! she thought, clenching her fist angrily at a memory that was suppressed quickly. She looked once again, her eyes resting on the laughing Quatre for a moment. But that one is slightly cute. I can't believe I just thought that! She forced herself to look back at the pistols she was cleaning, concentrating as she cleaned the inside of the gun barrel.  
  
Ririku walked into the hangar, her eyes set on Trowa. She could be a shameless flirt, but she didn't feel like it at the moment. Well, she might flirt a little without noticing it…but that wouldn't be her fault, now, would it? She found it difficult to speak with the false fangs in her mouth, so she ducked behind a partially reconstructed Libra, (Steven's) and spit them out, carefully wiping them off with a soft rag and placing them into a plastic baggy, which she hid in her cape. She pulled out a compact mirror and skillfully used it to look at herself. Her long black hair was messy, her eyes red, and she looked pale. Perfect! she thought with a smile. She walked out from behind Steven's mobile suit and looked at the laughing group for a moment before speaking. "Hey there, what's so funny?"  
  
Sage walked around, still slightly angry at Tricode for saying he taught her everything she knew about hacking. But then again, Tricode would say almost anything to impress a pretty girl, even if it would end in his death. He was just like that. She decided to walk to her room and see if Eschaton had gotten through the last code and had figured out how to program the Morpheus pendant. Sage signed onto the Black Star Network and checked the status of the pendant around Eschaton's neck. The report was simple; yes, she had. Sage grinned despite of herself. She knew Eschaton would set it up for maximum, especially since she had been told not to. But there was an inbred program that would only gradually raise the intensity of Morpheus over a period of time, and setting it up for maximum Morpheus only made it raise a little faster than it would under normal Morpheus. Eschaton should be ready for the maximum Morpheus effect by the next fight she was in, if it was in about a month, if not, well, then she should be able to withstand it without any permanent damage.  
  
There was a scream from the room where Havoc and Steven were. 


	16. Chapter sixteen

Chapter Sixteen: As the Pen Explodes  
  
Everyone within hearing range ran to the fire-room. Eschaton, Sage, and some of the others showed up just as the door swung open. Havoc and Steve were practically coated in lukewarm, dark-blue ink. Havoc slowly walked up to Eschaton, looking wise. "Never heat up a pen in a fire. It will explode." Steve nodded. They each slowly and quietly walked to their respective rooms for a shower. The people who knew Havoc just shrugged and walked away. The Gundams and Shanaiha, on the other hand, stared at each other in confusion. Eschaton started to leave, but looked back and saw their confused faces. "It's ok, at least it wasn't a white out pen this time. That was a mess. The entire base was high for a week. I honestly think Havoc is getting better. Come on, we have to set up a security perimeter. I don't want this base to be found and attacked like the solar base was. Come on, people!" She grabbed Duo and Shanaiha, then hurried off. "Last one there has the graveyard shift!" Graveyard shift? thought Heero. This is insane. He, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei slowly followed the running trio.  
  
When they reached the room Eschaton had pulled Duo and Shanaiha into, they saw that she had gotten what she jokingly called her "command crew" together, minus Steve and Havoc. Each found their seats. Heero sat next to Shanaiha, Trowa sat next to Ririku, Duo was already sitting next to Eschaton, and Wufei went off to sit by himself. Quatre found that the only seat open was next to the blonde Angeline. Angeline gave him a rare smile to the amusement of Eschaton. Quatre looked around the room, studying how everyone was sitting. Sage was sitting near Tricode, who was sitting next to Rhia, and a girl with black-brown hair, Tarantula, was sitting next to a black haired, dark-skinned young man who Quatre recognized as Peter. A young woman he didn't know the name of was sitting next to Richard, her long copper-color hair pulled back in an intricate braid. Everyone was sitting and waiting. Duo turned and whispered into Eschaton's ear and she stifled a giggle. Eschaton suddenly jumped up. "Holy un-divine junk!!! I forgot! I haven't changed yet!" She ran out of the room and reappeared very quickly. She was wearing a pair of short, faded blue jean shorts, no shoes, and a tshirt that read 'I'm with stupid.' on the front. She turned around to pick up her laptop so she could sit on her chair. The back read, 'Did I mention I was stupid?' Eschaton sat down, then said, "I think I heard Havoc screaming about lost shoes, she should be here soon." She set to work braiding her long silver hair. Sure enough, the door opened a few minutes later. Quatre turned, expecting to see Steve, Havoc, or both. But he was not prepared for the strange sight that met his eyes.  
  
The young woman had strawberry blonde hair that was pulled up into a strange looking top-knot. Her dark green eyes were focused on Eschaton. She walked into the room. She had belts slung over her back and waist. Sabers and long daggers were stuck into every available spot in the belts. She wore a green tunic over baggy blue jeans. She walked wordlessly to Eschaton and reached over her back, grabbing a long knife from one of the belts. It had a sheathe wrapped around it. She tossed it over to Eschaton, who caught it by its handle. "Thought ya'd like it kitty cat. Its shiny, ya see? Got any coke? Or any donuts, or any chocolate, or any sugar? Hell, ya got anythin ta eat or drink round here?" Eschaton bent over and buckled the sheathe around her shin, just beneath her knee. The long knife fit perfectly, its point resting right above her ankle. "Hey, Slade, I heard there was a slight problem with leaks in your Gundam, the Legolas. Were you practicing knife throwing again? And thanks for the dirk, I really like the color combo. Black and silver, some of my faves." Slade grinned sheepishly before pushing Ignition over closer to Raven and sitting next to her.  
  
Havoc ran into the room, her hair dripping. "Sorry, I couldn't find my shoe. See?" she held up her left foot, which had a red sock on it. Wufei snorted in impatience. Steve sauntered into the room. He had apparently only changed his clothes because he was still covered by blue ink. He sat down in the middle of the floor while Havoc pushed Raven into Ignition and sat down next to her. "Why does everyone want to sit by us?" grumbled Raven as she was squeezed in between Havoc and Ignition. The moment Havoc and Steve settled down, Eschaton began speaking from her seat beside Duo. "Ok, I believe we might have a few security problems in this base. For one thing, there was only a two minute warning when everyone from the Solar Base came here. I'd like about a half hour warning at the least. To do so, we need to activate the echo field, the top will be about ten meters from the surface of the ocean. I suggest extending the field for a radius of twenty miles, allowing for underwater landforms. There will constantly be four Aquarius mobile suits patrolling. These will have a pilot, co-pilot, and communications officer aboard, or at least a pilot and co-pilot if one, the other, or both are able to handle the radio." The Gundams, Steve, Shanaiha, and Tricode stared at her. "Say what?" said Duo, in an amazed voice. Sage, who was sitting across the room from Duo, whispered loudly. "She graduated on a college level more than a few years back. She definitely knows what she's talking about."  
  
As the confused and amazed silence was ensuing, Eschaton was hooking her computer up via a cable to the wall. The hard drive began humming and she typed in a few commands. Duo looked over at her screen. "Uploading" kept flashing across the screen, and when the upload was finished, the laptop made the strange backwards 'Papercut' sound effect. Eschaton closed her laptop, set it down on Duo's lap, and stood up, walking to the middle of the room and pushing Steven out of the way. "Steve, I think you'll want to go sit at one of the edges of the room. Why don't you go sit next to the other pyromaniac, Havoc." Steven walked over and sat down in front of Havoc on the floor while Eschaton was pulling a small remote from her pocket. She clicked one of the buttons and the lights dimmed, then clicked another and a holographic shape appeared in the middle of the room right next to her.  
  
It was a perfect model of the marine base, from the contours of the ocean floor to the miniscule holograms of fish and various other marine life forms moving around it. "Activate voice recognition." An unseen computer answered in a monotone, obeying Eschaton's command. "Voice recognition activated, awaiting verbal commands." Eschaton allowed herself a small smile. "This base was built about six years ago when it became imperative to expand Black Star into a galactic, although still secret, security force. Surrounding the base are many special rods equipped with a certain type of sound wave blasters and receivers." The watchers looked in amazement as a long rod began to glow a turquoise color, and was then zoomed in on. Wavy lines emanated from the rods. "These rods are a part of a type of echolocation, yeah, like the dolphins and whales do. When something comes into the range of the waves, it bounces some of them back." The shape of a shark came into view, passing by close to the enlarged rod. Some of the wavy lines were bounced back towards the rod. "When the waves are reflected, they are picked up by some sensors on the rods. The sound wave impulses are relayed to a computer, which gathers all of the information and compiles them into an image." The picture of the rod abruptly changed to that of a computer screen, which, after a few seconds, showed the shark swimming. "And this, my friends, is echo field 101. I hope this answers any questions the new people might have." Unable to stop himself, Duo called out in a confused voice. "Could you repeat that in English?" Eschaton sighed. "I'll tell you later. Now, are there any volunteers for the first security shift? They should start immediately. I get one of the eleven pm to three am shifts."  
  
No one spoke. Even Sage was slightly surprised at how Eschaton proposed to protect the base. "Eschaton, I didn't know you understood them enough to simplify them! I didn't even understand them enough to simplify them, and I'm one of the smartest people I know! In fact, I don't even really know what 'them' is!" It took a few moments for the absurdity of her final statement to sink in. There was a muffled laugh from where Steven was sitting, and a most definitely UN-muffled laugh from where Tricode was sitting. Sage glared at her brother. "Ok then. I guess it'll be figured out over the day. Alright, the watch will begin with my shift, but I need at least seven other volunteers, plus some people who will watch the computers and listen for the radios. I say we break for dinner and figure this out then! I don't know about you people, but I haven't eaten yet, and I've been up since…well, I've been up for a long time, so I think I'll go to sleep and just eat a snack a little before my shift starts. I'm going to leave the shift set up to you people while I go to sleep. Nighty- night!"  
  
Eschaton unhooked her laptop from the cable and carried it under her arm, walking out of the room. A few seconds later, she came back. "Er, I've forgotten where my room was again, could someone show me?" Slade grinned and jumped up, motioning for Eschaton to follow her. Duo yawned. He had been up just as long as she had, perhaps even longer…Everyone began talking at the same time when Slade got back. "I want something during the daytime, I don't like being under the ocean at night." "It doesn't matter, its just as pitch-black during the day as it is at night, believe me, I should know." "'Ey, 'Avoc, ya want to be with me in an Aquarius? I can 'andle the radio." "Sure Steve, but I'm pilot! And if we get one that has an underwater flamethrower, then I get to work that too!" It was decided after about forty-five minutes. All but one thing. "Hey, who's gunna be with Eschaton? She doesn't have a copilot!" Duo had been half asleep, but woke up slightly when he heard it. "Shut up already! I'm trying to go to sleep! And who d'ya think is gunna be her copilot? I'm gunna be her copilot! Now where can I go to sleep without bein' woke up by you crazy people!"  
  
That night.  
  
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Eschaton's left fist slammed down on her laptop, but the pre-recorded beeping wouldn't stop. Mumbling to herself, she pulled the pillow over her head and curled up deep under the blankets. 'One Step Closer' began blaring out over laptop speakers. Eschaton sleepily threw her pillow, covering the laptop up and slightly muffling the sound. She snuggled up even deeper into the blankets and fell asleep again. Someone knocked on her door. "Go 'way." She mumbled. The knocking persisted, harder this time. "Lemme lone, need sleep." The door opened, and Duo walked in, his hands held to his ears as the 'Shut up when I'm talkin' to you!' line came on her laptop. "Come on Nekomon, wake up. It's nine right now, in an hour it'll be time to brief the people who are going to take the shifts for this week." Eschaton growled softly and burrowed down, making herself almost flat against the bed. Duo smiled then said the magic line. "And time to get something to eat." Eschaton's head jerked up, and she fought her way out from under the covers, only succeeding in getting herself even more tangled up than she was. "I will if this evil octopus would let me go!" Duo helped her out from under the blankets. She had been tired, in fact, she hadn't even taken out enough time to change her clothes before she went to sleep.  
  
Eschaton leaped off of the bed and grabbed Duo by the arm. "Last one their makes breakfast for both of us!" Duo let her drag him to the kitchen, then roughly pushed her down when they reached the kitchen door, getting in first. "I win, you make me breakfast!" Eschaton began grumbling about fair play. "Alright then, I'll cook if you agree to be copilot." Eschaton grinned and sat down at the table. "I'd like…food…I'm not sure what, but I'll eat something." Duo opened the freezer and pulled out two tv dinners. "No fair! You knew those were in there!" Duo smirked evilly. "I know, and now I'm the pilot!" Eschaton shrugged and reached for a banana from the bowl of fruit in the middle of the table. She peeled it and began eating it, then grabbed a grape off of the grape bunch in the bowl. And threw it at Duo. Duo stiffened when it glanced off of his shoulders, then put one of the dinners in the microwave. He walked over to the refrigerator and pulled something out; a bag of shredded cheese, and then a can of spray cheese. "You, my little Nekomon, have made a dire mistake. Never attack a Gundam when he's hungry!" Eschaton screamed as he threw the shredded cheese at her and was sprayed by cheese wiz. She began grabbing grapes and throwing them at him, then decided they weren't working. "Oh, craA-zy! I hope you need some vitamin C-eeeee!" She threw the orange, hitting him in the stomach. He doubled up for a moment, his breath lost. Eschaton ran to the refrigerator and grabbed a gigantic bottle of ketchup.  
  
The microwave beeped, and a truce was called as the dinner was taken out. It was decided that Eschaton would eat first, mainly because Duo hoped she would slow down slightly after she ate. They were both covered in food, he in ketchup, and she in two different types of cheese. He reached into the refrigerator again and found a bottle of relish, the squeeze-and-it-comes- out-way-too-fast kind of bottle. He grinned evilly and hid it behind his back as she finished wolfing the food down. Duo had put his dinner into the microwave when he took hers out, and it was ready by the time she finished eating. Duo managed to eat before she attacked him, but this time she attacked him with ketchup and mustard. Twenty minutes later, they both needed showers.  
  
"There is a slight problem with the Phoenix," said Raven. "I don't think you should use it tonight, its still being repaired after capturing Shanaiha's black Libra. Just use an ordinary Aquarius. Duo should have no trouble piloting it, its a lot like Deathscythe Eternal." Eschaton nodded glumly at this, then thought of something. "Could you just make sure there aren't any problems with the engine in this one? It would be practically impossible for anyone to fix the engine under water this deep." Eschaton thought about the engine, not because there were problems with the Aquarius engines, but because she had a slight fear of being trapped under water so deep without a way to return to the base. "Just remember, the Aquarius's still aren't completely adapted to water of this pressure. Don't try to go too fast, you'll burn out the engine. But even if that happens, the Aquarius won't implode, its amazingly strong." Eschaton nodded again. She had taken a shower, and her long silver hair was pulled back in a pony tail. She was wearing black shorts and a tshirt, but had decided to put on some baggy exercise pants over the shorts and a faded light blue sweatshirt over the tshirt. She still hadn't put on any shoes. "I might as well braid my hair, it gets in my way if I'm in a mobile suit and its loose." She began braiding her hair when Duo walked up, wearing his usual black pants, white undershirt, and priest-collar over shirt. "What's this I hear about me being a better pilot than you are?" Eschaton finished braiding her long hair before answering him. "She didn't say that crazy! She said the Aquarius is closer to the Deathscythe than it is to the Phoenix. And we're going to have to use the Aquarius's until the Gundams are suited for this depth. That might take a few weeks, or days if we hurry. Come on! I need to tell everyone to be careful in the Aquarius's!"  
  
Everyone boarded their Aquarius's. Almost all of the Aquarius's had only a pilot and copilot, but Slade was in the same Aquarius as Raven and Ignition; Raven didn't feel like piloting anything that night. Duo and Eschaton were in the first Aquarius out of the air chamber. Duo piloted the sea-green mobile suit to the first point in the security sweep. It was pitch black under the water, and the Aquarius's bright flood lights only served to provided a faint glow to the surroundings. Eschaton's cat-vision was very useful. Everyone completed their security sweep in about half an hour. Rhia and Tricode were posted at the northern point of the base, Steve and Havoc at the southern, Raven, Ignition, and Slade at the eastern, and Duo and Eschaton at the western. "We're not scheduled for another sweep until one fifteen. We have maybe forty five minutes to kill." Duo set the Aquarius on autopilot. He leaned back in his chair, putting his arms behind his head, then asking a question. "How did you know they would try to capture me?" he was referring to when Eschaton had followed Leonard, making sure he didn't attack the city Duo was staying in. "That's a long story. But hey, forty five minutes…alright, I'll tell you."  
  
Eschaton began talking about what had first tipped them off that the Gundams could be targeted. "When I was spying on Denizen's Atlantic base, I heard they had captured Wufei, and figured they were either try to get him and the other Gundams to join him…or capture all of the Gundams and kill them. So I set up a watch on you, Quatre, and Trowa. But we couldn't find Heero. Quatre and Trowa were both well protected and well hidden, even if Quatre was an important person, to say the least. I set up the most security around you, contacting Deline. I had met her a long time ago, and I thought she could be of some help. You were in the most danger since you didn't bother to cover your tracks at all. I set up twenty four hour surveillance around you, the garage, and the house you stayed in. I remember when the Scorpio got through. That was pretty much a fluke. The radar had been down, and the moment it came up on radar, well, it was too late to stop it without a mobile suit. I had to hurry up with my disguise. The make up was a bit messed up, if you get my meaning, it had too much blush mixed in it." Duo grinned. "And I thought that was your natural color, now I feel silly." Eschaton allowed herself to laugh. "I didn't expect you to come in the Z-Kat. You might say it surprised me, to say the least. I wish I had recognized Richard, he could have helped me, and maybe A Priori wouldn't be a scrap heap in the Solar Base right now if I had. Deline knows who and what I am, she's known for a long time. She helped me keep it secret, at least until I told you. And don't ask how I disguised my tail, I'm so good at disguising myself, and its been so long since I've had to do it manually, that I've practically forgotten. Besides, that was a secret!"  
  
There was a blip on the radar. Eschaton looked at it, then looked up, her face a picture of panic. "I think we might have some company. But how could they have found us so fast!" She ordered Duo to set the lights to their weakest setting, and he piloted on, completely dependent upon her night-vision. "I see a…a white? " She shook her head and blinked a few times before continuing. "I see a white mobile suit! And if that's not an upgrade of the Tallgeese, then I'm a fish!" 


	17. Chapter seventeen

Chapter Seventeen: Attack of the Evil Octopus  
  
The white mobile suit's lights were completely burned out. Zechs had used them on the decent, and they weren't designed for such a prolonged usage. He used his radar to detect things that could damage his mobile suit. "Noin, are you sure the signal came from this latitude and longitude? I can't see a damn thing." Noin was using a flashlight to peer at a piece of paper. "Yes Zechs, the signal was no more than two hours ago. If we can find whatever made it...don't worry, I'm sure your sister will be found." Miss Relena had been missing for almost two days, but her disappearance hadn't been reported. It would have caused panic that another attack was being planned on the Earth. It was eerily quiet under the ocean, the silence and darkness seeming to press in even more than the water. A green shape appeared on the radar for a moment. "Noin, take a look at the radar. Tell me if it's a mobile suit when it comes back up." Noin moved over slightly in the cramped cockpit to stare at  
the radar screen once again, but to no avail; the green shape did not reappear.  
  
"Duo, I think I can see someone in the cockpit, hold on, there's someone else...no, they turned off the flashlight." Duo was impressed. He could hardly see anything, and what she said about the flashlight seemed true; he had seemed to see a small blur of gray in the black water. He gritted his teeth in concentration as he maneuvered around an ocean bottom hill. "Could you see what they looked like?" A beep sounded in the cockpit. "Duo! Quick, switch to stationary mode, and turn off the engine, and by the fates, turn off the lights! We've been spotted on their radar!" Duo obeyed quickly, and the blackness of the water filled the cockpit. He heard Eschaton's teeth chattering and felt her shake. "Its ok Nekomon." She shivered some more. "I just, I just don't like this feeling, the water...its, its too strong..." Duo heard more than saw her shake her head, her long silver braid swishing against her back. "No, I can't let myself freak out. Ok, I've got to focus. I can't tell you  
anything like hair color or eye color, but one was a woman. Duo, I'm going to see if I can use Morpheus to access their information database and hack into their radio. That should allow us to see them without being seen." Duo heard her remove the Morpheus pendant from her collar with a click. She held it in her right hand and it glowed softly, giving her Elendium finger nails a greenish shine. He saw her catlike eyes glow in the light. She closed her eyes, concentrating immensely. The electrical impulses of her brain were magnified by the Elendium, and were then sent as signals to the receptors of the pendant.  
  
Zechs thought he saw a hazy green light somewhere to the left of his mobile suit, but when he blinked, it was gone. "I don't like this. There's no way to see anything, and its too dangerous to fight underwater. You shouldn't have come Noin." A small alarm went off and was immediately stopped. "Noin, what did you just do?" Zechs' voice was strained, but not nearly as much as Noin's voice. "I didn't do anything, there must be someone following us, as impossible as it sounds. That's it, I'm going to turn on the computer monitor. If anyone's trying to track us with the radio, it'll make it easier on them, but it'll also allow us to see them." The soft glow of a computer monitor filled the cockpit.  
  
The monitor in the Aquarius began glowing. "Hey, I think I did it! Wait, no, I think they turned on the radio. Oh well, who cares, lets look and see who they are." The faces of a man and woman appeared. The man had long white blonde hair and blue eyes, while the woman had short black hair and dark colored eyes. "I think its Zechs and Noin, how did they know where your base was?" Eschaton started the engine start up sequence. She sighed in relief as the engine began humming, then switched on the lights. Duo blinked in the sudden brightness. He put his hands on the controls and began piloting the Aquarius towards the white mobile suit.  
  
Zechs looked at the blank screen. There was a sound under the water, a sound that could be heard over his mobile suit's engine. "That was a mobile suit. I know it was. Get ready, we might have to get out of here fast." A voice crackled over the radio. "Hey...am I talking to Zechs and Noin?" A face appeared on the monitor. "Duo! What are you doing down here?" The...striped?...face of a girl appeared next to Duo's. Her eyes were a startling color, but even more startling was the fact that her pupils were slitted, like those of a cat. She pushed a strand of silver hair out of her face. "Heya Zechs, heya Noin! Did you ever meet a pair of scientists who's last name was Ellindar? Guess who I am! I'm their kid!" Zechs blinked in surprise.  
  
Duo's hand was around his girlfriend's waist, where Zechs and Noin couldn't see it. But Eschaton could definitely feel it. She giggled helplessly as he gave her a hug. He was just as relieved as she was over Zechs and Noin. Noin's face appeared on the screen. "Do you mean you're Mystaiya? You've sure grown up! What happened to you after, well, after your parents' death?" Eschaton's face flashed a look of pain for a moment, almost imperceptible to the casual eye. "I'm not Mystaiya Ellindar anymore. I took on a new name. I'm Eschaton. I'll tell you some other time." The engine hesitated, and then died. Eschaton paled, but Noin smiled at her, saying, "It sounds like water got in your engine. Do you want us to tow you to the base? But you'll have to help us out. We're practically blind down here." Eschaton grinned in relief. "Sure, but what brings pilots like you to a place like this?" The tow cable was carefully attached by the white mobile suit's hands. Zechs looked grim.  
"Relena's been kidnapped."  
  
Eschaton's hazel eyes widened in surprise. An expression of worry clouded her face. The Aquarius's feet scraped the bottom as the white mobile suit pulled it. Eschaton gripped the edges of her seat, panic in her eyes. Zechs tried flipping a switch, but nothing happened. Noin sighed. "Sundare's flood lights are burned out completely. Do you know of a way we could see to find our way to the base?" Duo nudged Eschaton slightly, causing her to snap out of her fearful reverie. "Er, I'll watch and tell you how to move. Duo, could you switch on the lights full power? And get someone on the radio, we'll need some help to get into the air chamber." Zechs raised his eyebrows. "How can you see?" Eschaton managed a weak smile. "Believe me, I can. Hold on, I'll do a little hacking so Morpheus will let me see what you're seeing on your monitor. Don't worry, I'll also look out the window."  
  
Duo was working with the radio as Eschaton gave Zechs instructions. "Bear north by northwest eighteen degrees for, oh, I'd say four minutes and..." She tapped one of her Elendium claws on the windshield of the Aquarius. She closed her eyes, listening intently. "Alright, four minutes and twenty seven seconds." Noin looked over at Zechs in surprise. Eschaton looked over onto the Aquarius's computer monitor. "Ok, there should be a glimmer of light appearing on your monitor. Don't worry if you can't see it yet, it'll be easier to see in a minute." Sure enough, a light appeared on the monitor. "I got it!" Duo had finally managed to make the radio work. D's voice came over the radio. "Duo, Eschaton, we've been trying to contact you for hours. The echo field detected a strange mobile suit somewhere around your sector and..." Eschaton interrupted her. "We got them, well, its more like they got us. Turn on the air chamber lights full power. We have engine trouble and its difficult to  
see." D agreed to turn on the lights. The dark ocean floor suddenly became hazy, but much brighter, and Duo could see the Sundare, and the base, with hardly any trouble at all. Allowing Zechs and Noin to pilot themselves, and tow the Aquarius, Eschaton pushed Duo over a little so she could get to the radio. She contacted Raven, Ignition, and Slade. "Raven, we had some engine trouble. We're being towed back. You might want to contact everyone else and tell them to get back to the base. There might be a problem with a slight leak in the engine chamber. Did ya get alla that?" Raven's sheepish voice answered. "Er, sorry about that, but I thought the suit would hold up. I'll take a look at it when we get back to the base."  
  
Eschaton jumped out of the mobile suit, running for the airlock as fast as she could. She ran a little too fast; she ran into the door as it was sliding open and fell down. Duo started laughing, but she ignored him, slowly standing up and giving her Elendium claws a nonchalant lick before sauntering through the doors. "Hey, Nekomon, I think the air chamber is filling up again!" Eschaton jumped and sprinted off towards her room. Zechs and Noin followed the laughing Duo as he walked towards the hangar. The two mobile suits were on a gigantic conveyor belt and were being pulled into the hangar. Zechs' face was blank and expressionless, but Noin's was full of confusion. "Duo, does she always act like this? I don't remember her acting like this." Duo shrugged. "She doesn't really like being in water this deep. I'm still surprised she wanted to be on guard. Don't worry. She always worries about everyone's mobile suits. She'll be back in a few minutes." Duo was right. Eschaton DID  
come back, and she was completely cocooned inside of a black fleece blanket. "Sorry, I was cold." The hangar's air and watertight doors closed as the air chamber filled with water, allowing the other three Aquarius's to land. These too were brought into the hangar. Raven jumped out of the Aquarius she was sharing with Slade and Ignition. She began going over the body of Duo and Eschaton's Aquarius. "I found the problem! This joint isn't watertight. It was letting water get into the engine chamber. I'll have it fixed in two days. I'd better check the other Aquarius's." Eschaton nodded, then motioned for everyone to follow her to the meeting room. "Could someone wake up the rest of the command crew? There's an emergency to discuss." Ignition nodded, then went to wake everyone up. Eschaton led the others to the same room she had shown the hologram model of the base in. The moment everyone was there, she introduced Zechs. "And now, I think the Lightning Count has something to  
tell all of us." Zechs stood up and began speaking, his blue eyes betraying no anger, but when he spoke of his sister's disappearance, his voice filled with cold fury.  
  
"She hasn't been seen for about two days. Her room was broken into, but nothing other than her was missing. I think someone is trying to plan an attack on the Earth, and that they need Relena as a hostage." He finished, then sat down next to Noin. Eschaton spoke for the group. "We'll help you find her. I have a feeling I know who did this. Denizen." Duo saw her flinch slightly at the thought of Denizen. Shanaiha decided it was time to say something. "I was sent to the Solar Base to destroy it, but if I couldn't, I was instructed to kill Eschaton. Denizen probably thought she would try to free Relena. He didn't want to risk that, and I think I know why. Denizen's men lost a lot of confidence in him when the Libras were destroyed, but they've probably lost even more since the failed attack on the Solar Base. They think he's afraid of Eschaton. Relena's probably being held on the Lunar Base. It was almost completely planned when I left. I was originally going to disguise myself  
as a student in the same school Relena was in. Denizen has some people there. All I know is one of them is a part of the actual staff. The other two are members of the board of directors. You might want to get someone in there to get information from them."  
  
Eschaton's face lit up. "I have an idea, and thanks to Moose, it should work. I can do the spying. But I'll need Sage for three weeks." Sage looked at her in confusion. She was wearing a robe, and looked tired. "Why do you need me? It's not like you need help to spy. Or is it to show you how you're supposed to act in a school?" Eschaton grinned broadly, then winked. "Of course not, cousin Jennifer Ryan. You and your cousin, Kathryn King, have just been transferred, and will be attending the school for a short amount of time. Denizen will have his people looking for one girl, not two, especially not two girls with dark brown eyes and short black hair. We are skilled with computers, and are accustomed to using them in school. We have obtained permission to use them as we did at our old school; we use them to type notes, write speeches and papers, do research, everything. We just need a convincing alibi. And we need one of our other cousins, a very wealthy young man, to vouch  
for us and pull a few strings to get us into the same classes Relena was in, and to make sure we can use our laptops. You up to it Quatre?" Quatre looked up with a start, then smiled softly. "Of course, I'll go back to being the person in charge of the Winner Corporation, and I know a few strings I can pull."  
  
Eschaton laughed gleefully and clapped her hands. "I've never been to a school before!" Duo looked at her, disbelief on his face. "Sage said you graduated on a college level a few years ago. What do you mean you've never been to a school?" Sage laughed, then answered for Eschaton. "Ever heard of home schooling? And it's made so much easier with the Internet. One could even learn how to build a space station out of a few household items if he or she wanted to. The college thing is a joke we have. We'd better go and start planning. You should too Quatre. We'll be ready in three days, but we'll give you a week to reappear and get people used to you again." She and Eschaton practically skipped out of the room to the amazement of everyone else. Quatre stood up. "I'd better get ready to leave. Who will go with me? I'll need to keep in touch with everyone else."  
  
Quatre had left six days ago. Eschaton and Sage looked completely different. They both had short black hair and dark brown eyes, and each were taking pills to give their skin a dark tint. Eschaton came up with an interesting accent to use. She called it Austradianish. It was marked by an English accent, with some Australian and Canadian ways of speaking thrown in haphazardly. Sage just decided to speak the way she normally did. Eschaton was working hard on her laptop, trying to "exorcise the demons" as she put it. Sage didn't have to work on her laptop. It was already under control. The day arrived when they were to leave the base. Heero and Shanaiha were well disguised; they were to pilot the shuttle taking them to the school. Quatre was to meet them there. When they reached the school, it was quiet outside; classes were being held. It was perfect, no one really knew who they were, but Quatre said they were related to some friends of his family's, so they were accepted as  
students, allowed to use their laptops, and had the exact same schedule as Relena did before her kidnapping. Quatre left two days later, explaining that he had an important business meeting. In reality, he was going with Heero and Shanaiha to the base under the Mediterranean. Eschaton soon decided she was glad she had never gone to school. 


	18. Chapter eighteen

Chapter Eighteen: School Daze  
  
Eschaton was flopped over on her bed, bored out of her skull. "I'm glad I didn't go to school, this is boring! I don't know what I would do if you hadn't enabled that wireless internet. I can't imagine what would happen if the wireless network stopped working..." Quatre had paid for a wireless system to be installed at the school. He explained the two new students were accustomed to having access to the internet at all times. The principal hadn't wanted to, but since Quatre insisted, he practically had no choice. Sage had configured the wireless pc cards for the laptops. Eschaton and Sage spent most of their class time writing complicated and thorough notes, if they weren't chatting online with each other or their friends back at the base.  
  
RealmOfEschaton: Still haven't found anything, not even heard any talk  
  
N_Igma_Sage_474: sth, I don't get it,...  
  
N_Igma_Sage_474: hold on, I think I heard Zechs say her disappearance was explained as an emergency meeting...said she'd be back in about a month...shoulda given us more time...  
  
The conversations were usually like this. One day during lunch, Sage and Eschaton were sitting in the stairwell, a place they often sat, especially if they needed to talk about something and it couldn't wait. "I think you should go back to the base...I ran across an email to the principal." Eschaton's voice was calm, but insistent. Sage sighed. "What was in the email?" Eschaton opened her laptop and began typing. "I'll send it to you." It only took a few moments for the email to be received.  
  
It was in a simple numerical code, and Sage broke it easily. "Prepare for attack on ocean base...two spies believed to be in school, find them, then retrieve answers on ocean base's defenses, attack in two weeks"  
  
Sage looked up. They would be looking for two people, and since they were new..."What are you doing in here?" the sharp voice startled the two girls. Eschaton was taking a sip of the chemical that allowed her to be human at that moment and almost choked on it. Sage quickly deleted the email, pulling up a school paper on her laptop. Eschaton did the same as she was coughing. The dean of students had a look of absolute revulsion on her face. "What's that? Are you..." she searched for the word. "Are you getting low?" Eschaton didn't even bat an eyelash at the verbal slip up, she didn't even pause to think before she answered. "This is an allergy medication. I have a rare allergy. I'm allergic to any form of carbon, and if I don't take this once a day, I could end up more than a little sick. In fact, I once forgot and ended up in the hospital. I take it religiously now." The dean looked at her, still not quite believing. "You're eating in the stairwell, and you're not allowed to  
sit in here. You each get a warning. Don't you realize you're health hazards? Because that's what you are; health hazards!" She ripped two sheets of paper off of the clipboard in her hands. Filling out the warning sheets, she asked each their names. "I'm Kathryn King, and my cousin is Jennifer Ryan. This won't interfere with Jennifer's returning to the school in a few months? There's been an emergency at home, and our family decided she should go home to help out. She should be coming back in about two months." Sage looked up, giving Eschaton a dark look. The dean, named Fisher, shook her head in the negative. "No, it won't, but if you get two others in this semester, there will be a detention to serve. I was not aware of your emergency, I'm sorry, but you'll still get this warning." Fisher walked off after handing them the warning sheets. "I say we go to our room. I'll help you pack. You've got to leave as soon as you can, maybe even tomorrow if I can contact Quatre."  
  
Eschaton waved goodbye as Sage boarded the shuttle Quatre sent to get her. She forced a tear to trickle down her face; her cousin was leaving because of family trouble, she had to look sad. "Its alright Kathryn." Eschaton looked up. A girl she hardly knew was patting her arm. Eschaton studied the girl. Her black almond eyes radiated sympathy, but they sent a feeling of sharpness and intelligence with their glance. Eschaton felt the girl was measuring her just as she was measuring the girl. "I'm Alandriel Evangelion. Fisher told me I was your new roommate until Jennifer comes back." Eschaton smiled at her. "Hello Alandriel. You don't look Greek to me, but I still like your last name. I need some good news right now." Alandriel laughed. "You're the first person to know what that means without me telling you! You're better than Fisher, she thought I was Polish!" The two girls laughed and walked away together towards the dormitories.  
  
Duo couldn't believe it. "You mean you left her alone with Denizen's spies? Are you crazy?" Sage sighed as Moose injected the skin lightening chemical into her arm. "Eschaton can take care of herself better than you think. She didn't give me a choice: she told the dean of students I was leaving, and the dean expected me to. But I will say this: I didn't think Quatre would send the shuttle so quickly. We seriously need to work on our defenses around here. I think they have an idea as to where this base is. If they find us, they could wipe us all out with one bomb, and it doesn't even have to be big. Don't worry, if she im's me and says she needs help, I'll tell you, and you can go in there like the psychotic burglar Gundam who wants to rescue his girlfriend, ok?" Duo grinned slightly. "Ok, but the first word I get, I'm going, whether you say I can or not!"  
  
Alandriel sat on the bed, watching her new friend type an email message to someone. It was a Tuesday night, and both were bored. "Who are you sending it to again?" Eschaton grinned then answered. "I told you, if my boyfriend thinks I so much as break a nail, he'll rush in here like a crazy man to destroy whatever he thinks made my nail break." Alandriel laughed. There was a sound outside of the door and Eschaton froze from instinct. "What? What's wrong?" Alandriel got off the bed and walked over to Eschaton, who had a startled look on her face. Eschaton didn't answer and began hurriedly typing. Alandriel caught a glimpse of what she was writing.  
  
"Duo! I'm sorry, but I think I need to go somewhere and hide. Someone was listening outside of my room. This isn't the first time. I'm going to leave Sunday, on one of our days off. You need to make sure the scramblers are set up on the base. If they aren't, radar could detect the base. I've got to leave...bye, miss you, I won't send anymore emails for a while unless there's an emergency. Anyone I trust who sends an email will call me Mizu. If that happens, then I'm in trouble and get the hell over here!"  
  
Alandriel looked at Eschaton in wonder. "Kathryn, who are you? And is that the Duo who was...a Gundam?" Eschaton hadn't minded lying to her before she came to know her, but now..."I'm going to tell you a story..." She told her everything about Denizen, about the Sons of Darkness, Black Star, her relation to the Gundams. But not her real name. She couldn't, who would believe her?  
  
When Eschaton finished, Alandriel just sat there, the expression on her face full of hurt. "You didn't trust me..." Eschaton felt like screaming I didn't KNOW you! but couldn't; she knew it would only hurt Alandriel even more. But Alandriel was more than Eschaton had guessed as well. "It's ok. You know, it's a bit funny, but I didn't trust you. I'm just as bad as you are. I'm Alandriel Illusciona, the adopted niece of Aileen Ellindar, the cousin of Mystaiya Ellindar. She's the only family I have, if she's alive. Which many doubt. No one knows what happened to her when Ivystone Abbey was attacked." She slammed her fist on the desk, her face full of anger. "I know she's not dead! The three mobile suits that attacked the Abbey were destroyed, so she had to have escaped!" Eschaton just stared at her. Alandriel saw the odd look on her face. "Why are you looking at me like that? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Eschaton ran into the bathroom, not saying a word.  
  
She couldn't believe it. She had had a cousin for so many years, but had not even known it! She decided to show Alandriel irrefutable proof that she was Mystaiya. She took the small plastic bottle from its compartment inside of her shoe, then drank it. She took out her contacts. "I'm sorry, I just need a shower really bad, I didn't mean to startle you." Alandriel didn't answer. Eschaton reached inside of her other shoe and pulled out another bottle, this one full of a red liquid. Putting the liquid on her brush, she brush her hair. Anyone watching would have been amazed. With each stroke, the hair became longer, and began losing its glossy black color. When she was through, her hair had many streaks in it, but the brush had completely dried, and was extremely clean. She stepped into the shower and washed her hair. She was going to show Alandriel what she really was, and rules of intrigue be damned!  
  
Alandriel was puzzled. Its not every day a girl tells you she's a spy, then runs into the bathroom for a shower. She laid on the bed again, her mind slightly numb, turning the new information over and over in her mind. The water turned off, and Alandriel heard a hair dryer. Am I ever going to find a normal girl to make friends with? she wondered, closing her eyes as she thought. A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened. A strange new voice, that of an American, called her name. "Alandriel, you've found me. But now I think you might be in danger." Alandriel looked up in shock, then ran to hug her long lost cousin.  
  
Two days later, Eschaton was put into a solitary room, not because she had done something, but because she was accused of plotting against the Peacecraft family. She was locked in her room without her laptop, and Alandriel decided to type up an email to Eschaton's boyfriend. It had only eight words. "Mizu is in trouble, come. Alandriel Illusciona" Less than thirty six hours after it was sent, there was a knock on her window. It was a long haired young man. "I'm Duo Maxwell. Is this Alandriel Illusciona? What happened to Nekomon?" Alandriel explained to him as quickly as she could, and he smiled when he heard. "My guess is one of the students heard something and tipped off the principal. This is easy to fix, I'll just have to ask D's advice on how to look the part." He pulled out a vid radio. After adjusting a few knobs and dials, the face of a copper haired young woman appeared on the screen. She giggled, then slapped something, asking, "Duo, where are you? And why are you  
calling?" Duo explained. D tried to look serious, but giggled again, and punched someone, causing a muffled grunt to be heard. "Ok, there should be some hair shortening formula in Eschaton's bag. Use that, and there should be some green contact lenses she hasn't used in her purse. Don't forget, call yourself David Randal, and then just think of something to say. Stop it!!!" she giggled again and hit someone, then the connection stopped. Duo sighed.  
  
Alandriel laughed and offered to help. "I'll help you, she showed me how to use the shortening formula, and what to use to reverse the effects if the real antidote isn't there." In a few hours, Duo looked very different. He had piercingly bright green eyes, and his now short brown hair was neatly brushed. He decided to take off the priest's collar shirt and `borrowed' a white men's button down shirt he snuck out of the theatrical department's costume room. "How do I look?" he asked, affecting a British accent. Alandriel laughed and clapped her hands. He smiled. He was beginning to like Eschaton's cousin, and he had a feeling Eschaton wouldn't mind him being there when she heard what he had to say. "Could you do me a favor? Send her a tiger lily and ask her to put it on the window sill tonight."  
  
He walked out of the dormitories and waited until it was dark to begin. Finding her window with the aid of the tiger lily, he snuck through Eschaton's window, picking the lock while hiding from the security guards patrolling the grounds. Eschaton was asleep on her bed. Duo quietly walked over to her, then looked at her face. She looked slightly worried, even as she slept. He decided to wake her up in his own special way. He bent down close to her ear and whispered. "Come on Nekomon, time for breakfast!" She jerked awake, startled as Duo grabbed her in a gigantic hug. She screamed in fear and hit him in the stomach, freeing herself. She ran to the window, then looked back at the gasping Duo. "W-who are you?" she asked in a shaky voice. Duo had forgotten. He didn't look like himself. He rubbed his stomach, a rueful grin on his face. "Sorry Nekomon, I guess I should have told you who I was before I hugged you."  
  
She pounced on him, hugging him ecstatically. "Duo!!!! I missed you! Are you going to get me out of here?" Duo kissed her and smiled. "Of course, but when I come to talk to the principal tomorrow, remember, I'm David Randal, a friend of your family's." Eschaton began to speak, but Duo pulled her into another kiss. Eschaton hugged him again as he kissed her, then froze in fright as the door unlocked and opened. The enraged face of the dean of students appeared in the doorway, a murderous gleam in her gray eyes. "I hope you realize the consequences of your actions, Miss King. Because they are more severe than any ever given at this school. Both of you come to my office. Now!" Fisher turned and stomped to her office. Duo winked at Eschaton and reached for her hand. She seemed on the verge of tears as she walked hand in hand with Duo to the dean's office. Duo wondered what had happened to her, he had never seen her so worried.  
  
"You were found, alone in your room, with a man. This is punishable by expulsion, not only that, but there can be a fine imposed. If I see fit, I could have you arrested. Now is there a reason for me not to have you expelled?" Eschaton's face was full of confusion. "Um..." The dean continued. "Not only were you found alone in a dark room with a man, but he is most definitely not of this school. Now explain yourself this minute, Miss King." "Um..." Duo took it upon himself to answer. "I'm David Randal, Es...Kathryn's fiancée. I came here to see her, but came too late to get in. I had heard she was in a room on the east side of the dormitories, then just looked for the window with a tiger lily in a vase on the window sill. I know, it was stupid and wrong of me to sneak in, but, what can I say, I haven't seen my fiancée in over a year. I was away on business when she transferred over to this school." Eschaton looked up at him in bewilderment. Duo looked into her eyes and  
squeezed her hand. The dean looked at Eschaton doubtfully. "And why did you not report this when you arrived here? Trouble could have been avoided, as could a detention and accusation of conspiring against the Minister's family. When are you to be married, Kathryn?" "Um..." Duo excused Eschaton and himself, saying he needed to speak with her privately. Fisher nodded, pointing to an empty office across the hall. "Duo, don't you realize that we have to get married now?" Duo grinned and nodded. He casually tossed her a ring with tiny, bright opals surrounding a diamond the size of a teardrop. "Rhia picked it out for me, and Quatre lent me some money. Figured it might as well look like I'm rich. Well, whaddya say Nekomon, is it a yes?" Eschaton didn't answer him. She kissed him, too happy to speak.  
  
Note from author: yup, the rants are comin' back! I'm bout to end this one. I think I'll go on and give everyone a break in this, maybe I'll...oops, sorry, almost gave something away! I'd like to point out a mistake I made. I said `Poison Ivy' was by the Drifters. Its by the Coasters. Sorry bout that, I was at school, and it was a few minute before school started. Well, I'll ttyl! 


	19. Chapter nineteen

Disclaimer: ok, you know how much I hate making these things. Just wanted to say to those who noticed: sorry bout the grammatical and numeric mistakes in the last chapter: it was about six in the morning and I was on the way to school. You do the math. In fact, that's what I was doing. I had `forgotten' to do my algebra the night before, and it didn't help that I forgot about my physics homework as well. Now I'm working on a presentation for speech. If you've ever wanted to learn to draw on a computer, ask me to send you the presentation. If I do it right, anyone will be able to use the presentation to learn to draw. And I mean learn without going insane. "^^;;  
  
Ok, I'll go now, and the supreme court justice bit is cuz Eschaton's an American...just FYI, and yes, the marriage was legal. Had to clear that up with Tarantula and Moose. They couldn't quite believe it. *^^; Can't believe I'm actually writing this. I have some kinda cold, and I gotta million things to do at school. Stinkin physics project...*grumble*  
  
Chapter Nineteen: And You Thought You had a Dysfunctional Family  
  
Sage looked at Eschaton and Duo in disbelief. "You mean you really got married?" Duo and Eschaton just gave her identical grins. Sage shook her head. "What happened? I didn't think that not seeing each other for about ten months would result in this..." Duo took it upon himself to answer. "The dean walked in when I woke Nekomon up. She thought I was her boyfriend and we were going to have some...fun. Had to act like a rich guy who hadn't seen his fiancée in a long time and couldn't wait till morning. It worked. So, you might say I got her out of the trouble she would have been in if I didn't come. Leave it to me to save the day, as usual." "He dodged a slap from Eschaton and held her arms to her sides as he kissed her. Sage shook her head and covered her eyes. "I do not want to see this, I so don't want to see this. Let's just go tell Zechs were to find Relena. Then we can go destroy where she's being hidden, then we can go blow up Denizen, then you can go have a honeymoon.  
But not now!!! Eschaton laughed at Sage's dramatics. Come on crazy, you too Sage. We've got to tell Zechs where Relena is. C'mon! I'm hungry!"  
  
Sage shook her head as she watched the married couple walk ahead of her. I still can't believe them...but Eschaton doesn't like lying too much, unless she has to. But...I give up...I don't understand this, and I don't think I will! She followed Duo and Eschaton to the kitchen. Noin was sitting in there alone, eating an apple as she listened to some music through her earphones. Just to see what would happen, Duo decided to surprise her, unwittingly surprising Eschaton. He picked her up by the waist and sat her on the table then kissed her shamelessly, even though she gave a small scream of surprise, and Noin had more than a surprised look on her face. It was an absolutely flabbergasted look. Sage sighed. "I know, I still can't believe it. They're married. Can you imagine how terrifying their kids will be?"  
  
Duo and Eschaton didn't hear them; he was too busy dodging the fruit projectiles she was throwing at him. "Don't surprise me like that! And you nearly gave Noin a heart attack, not to mention that my heart must've skipped bout twenty beats! What kind of a husband tries to kill his wife when he kisses her?" Duo ducked under the table as a green apple narrowly missed his head. His head popped back into view. "A husband who wants his wife to die completely satisfied!" Eschaton threw the last banana as he ducked again, then picked up the empty bowl and tossed it from hand to hand, her eyes daring him to come back into her line of sight. Sage looked back at Noin, a look of complete terror on her face. "I can't take it. I just cant take it! If they have kids, I'm moving to Mars with you and Zechs!" Duo jumped out from under the table, tackling Eschaton as she threw the wooden bowl. He began kissing her roguishly as she screamed death threats at him. "You, You! I'll, I'll...I'll do  
something and you won't like it!!!!! I'm suing you! No, even better! I'm going to study to become a lawyer, then I'm suing you! No, best yet! I'm going to become supreme court justice, then sue you!" Duo kept on kissing and she kept on screaming death threats.  
  
Tricode walked in. "Oh-ho! So that's what they were doing when they were gone! Almost as bad as you and your old ex-boyfriend, Sage!" Sage ignored him, walking over to the refrigerator. Tricode watched Eschaton try to fight her husband off; she was having a hard time, he kept tickling her when she tried to hit him, and its hard to hit someone when you're laughing so hard you can hardly breathe. Sage fixed a baked potato, then began eating it. Tricode looked up, his voice dripping sincerity and innocence. "You know, I never did understand why boyfriends and girlfriends do that to each other. Why don't you explain it to me?" Sage smiled at him sweetly, then picked up the potato in her gloved hand. Even more pandemonium broke loose. She threw the potato at her brother, hitting his trench coat and causing potato to fly everywhere.  
  
Eschaton managed to fight her way up, then ran to the refrigerator and grabbed the ketchup and mustard. Food was flying everywhere as Duo fought his way to the refrigerator and reached for his weapons of choice: cheese whiz and the comes-out-too-fast bottle of relish. Noin ran for her life from the room. Sage ducked when her brother picked up the potato and tossed it back at her. She stood up right when he threw one of the oranges he had picked up from the floor at her, getting hit in the shoulder. "You just signed your death warrant. Or should I say my cooking license? I wonder what lizard stew tastes like!" She reached into the refrigerator and grabbed some carrots, onions, and just about anything else one would find in a bowl of stew. Any world leader in their right mind would have called that one room cataclysmic. Come to think of it, any one in any mind would have just run as far away as they could.  
  
By the time they were finished, it was almost impossible to tell them apart. Aside from different heights and hair lengths, each was covered in food, and in Duo and Eschaton's case, bruises from hitting each other. Shanaiha and Heero walked in with Noin and Zechs. Zechs and Heero didn't say a word. Noin just looked confused, and Shanaiha started laughing. There was the click of a camera and D appeared from behind Shanaiha. "I'm glad I got that on film. No one would believe me otherwise. I can believe Eschaton, Duo, and maybe even Tricode, but Sage..." Sage looked down on the floor guiltily. Duo just grinned at D. Eschaton looked as though she were perfectly innocent and had just the misfortune of stepping inside, although she, of course, had meant to do that, just to see what would happen if she did step inside. A cat to the end... thought D. Tricode started blaming everyone else until Sage elbowed him. There was a snort of disgust from behind the group of un-food-covered  
people. Wufei was standing in the doorway, a look of complete scorn on his face.  
  
Eschaton looked over at Duo and winked. "Hey, Wufei. Ya wanna meet my cousin? I think you'd like her!" She bent down and reached inside of her shoe, pulling out a small circular object. She opened it: it looked like a compact mirror. Clicking a button on the inside, she made the shiny mirror disappear, and in its place were green lights and tiny numbered buttons. Eschaton used her claw to type out the proper phone number. She held the phone up to her ear. "Alandriel? Yes, its Mystaiya. I think I'll go ahead and come get you. No, don't worry, I'll figure out what you can do. But remember, ya gotta pass the test `fore ya get in completely!" She closed the mirror and put it back inside of her shoe. Wufei glared murder at her before he walked away. She grinned and called after him, "Don't worry Wufei. You'll just ab-so-LUTE-ly LOVE her!"  
  
Alandriel waited at the Houston airport nervously. She was to be picked up by a tall, blonde, blue eyed woman and a tall black haired, brown eyed man. The airport was full of them. "Hallo miss. Would you be Alandriel Illusciona?" She looked to the left. A blonde woman with a crisp British accent was looking at her. She was wearing high heeled, knee-high, black leather boots, a very short black skirt showing a lot of her legs, and a button down white shirt with a blazer to match the skirt. A tall man appeared next to her. He spoke in Spanish. "Buenas tardes, señorita. Eres Alandriel, ¿no? Llamo Ricardo. Ah, my apologies señorita." He bowed politely. "I have, how you say, forgotten my voice again. Please, accept this small gift." He gave her a small box. Alandriel opened it, and found a note. "Alandriel ~ this is Richard, and the woman is D. Each are loyal friends of mine. Trust them. And no, D doesn't really look or talk like that...and Richard doesn't sound or act anything  
like that. So don't let him fool you." The girl looked up at Richard, a tight-lipped smile on her face. "So, hello Richard. Hello D. As soon as we get into the car, you can talk normally to me." D grinned at her, but was still able to keep her British accent believable. "Aw, she told you. I was hoping she wouldn't. Oh well. And you aren't going to a car. You're boarding another plane. You're off to New Orleans and the French Quarter. Laissez le bon roulement de périodes. Let the good times roll!"  
  
Alandriel didn't notice the `you're'. All she understood was the fact that she was going to New Orleans instead of the Mediterranean base. D didn't give her a chance to speak as she hurried Alandriel to the flight gate and thrust a ticket into her hands. As Alandriel was seated, she looked out the window. A tall man wearing all black appeared, his face covered by a scarf, his eyes covered by sunglasses. He held a gun in his hand, and was looking straight at her. He raised the gun and prepared to fire. Alandriel's head whipped back to tell D, but D wasn't there, in fact, neither she nor Richard were anywhere on the plane. Alandriel looked back down to the man. He was tackled by two people. One had black hair, the other long blonde hair. D and Richard! But I thought they were coming with me? The stranger began striking the man and woman, but was too close to use his gun; he would probably just end up shooting himself. Richard grabbed the man by the neck and slammed the back of  
his head into the pavement, either knocking him out or killing him. Alandriel watched with horror, then the plane took off. Richard and D could only give her apologetic looks as she took to the air. Alandriel sighed and leaned back in her seat. Ever since she had found out about her cousin, things like this just seemed to happen. Just last week she was almost mugged, and probably would have been, if a male classmate hadn't been in the same store she had just walked out of. Alandriel was glad Eschaton had called her; the classmate had expected a little thank you that she was determined not to give him. Men, they're just about always the same! She had been more than a little annoyed with him, then had shown him that she could take care of herself with a special little move she had deemed, `pillar punch.' He was still wearing a back brace, and even more amazingly, he was still hopeful. Alandriel sighed yet again. She hoped her cousin would be in New Orleans. She wasn't much of  
a French speaker.  
  
She walked out of the airport and hired a cab to the only landmark she knew. Pat O'Brien's. Apparently, Eschaton had guessed she would go there, because someone was there, and even more surprising, so were the Gundams. She recognized Duo and grinned at him. A young Chinese teenager stood at the rear of the group, his eyes glaring stubbornly at the ground, his arms crossed in front of him. Hey, he doesn't look that bad! But what a look on him! I haven't seen anyone look like that since Fisher put Eschaton in solitary back at the school! The girl standing with Duo walked up to her, an olive-skinned hand outstretched for a handshake. "Buenos noches, señorita. ¿Cómo estas? No te duele tu cabeza, ¿si? Esta bien." She winked and said in a heavily accented, but soft, voice. "Come with me, señorita Alandriel. Would you like a drink? I have some, what is the word?" Grinning, Duo leaned down and whispered almost inaudibly in her ear. The girl giggled, then spoke again. "Ah, yes,  
gracias señor Duo." Duo winked at Alandriel, then roughly pulled the Spanish woman closer to him, interrupting her. The Spanish woman began muttering death threats that almost only he could hear, and she was muttering them in a definitely un-Spanish accent. She slapped him when he tried to kiss her, then continued smoothly, as if she had not been interrupted, her accent back. "I have some, inside, friends at..." she couldn't keep up the accent anymore; Duo was "bothering" her, making it almost impossible to speak. She gave him a sharp elbow to the stomach and continued once again, forgetting about the accent. "I have some friends over at Pat O'Brien's, but if you'd rather some coffee and beignets, (slight Cajun accent, which is unavoidable considering she is half Cajun,) then we can go to Café Dumonde! But should it be the Café Dumonde in the French Quarter? Or in Esplanade Mall?" She stomped on Duo's foot as he was mimicking her behind her back. She began once again, this  
time her Spanish accent was back in full force. "Ah, the Café in Esplanade may be better, but, this one is closer, with more of a, what is it? Native flavor, you agree?" Alandriel couldn't answer; she was too busy laughing at Duo. "Mystaiya, I don't care where you go, but you'd better hurry up before you two end up killing each other!" The husband and wife were punching each other in what they obviously thought was a discreet way, looking around them innocently, not even glancing over to see what they were punching. Duo had the advantage of strength, but Eschaton had a little more speed, and even though she was human at the time, her reflexes were still better. But this time, strength won over speed, much to Eschaton's dislike. Duo picked her up, holding her arms to her sides as he kissed her. She was kicking her legs like a madwoman, and making muffled sounds that were suspiciously like death threats. He set her down when she kicked him in the knee. He rubbed his knee and  
grinned. "Well, I guess that's what I get..." Eschaton didn't even look at him, she just grabbed a black backpack from the ground, flounced over to Alandriel, and grabbed her arm, leading her through the crowded streets to Café Dumonde. Alandriel was laughing the entire way. Eschaton suddenly stopped, her face breaking into a euphoric grin. "Antoine's!" Alandriel looked at her in confusion. "Let's go to Antoine's! It'll be delicious!" She remembered what she looked like. "But first, I'll change my look a little." She grabbed the backpack and pulled Alandriel into the nearest place that looked like it had a bathroom. "I'll only be few minutes. You can look around if you'd like." Alandriel decided to look around. A brunette with pale skin and gray eyes walked out of the bathroom, the only thing recognizable was her old black backpack. She spoke French. "Venez avec moi, mon ami. Ne vous inquiétez pas, Duo et les autres pilotes de Gundam suivront. Même maintenant, ils ne sont  
pas derrière lointain. Est-ce que vous regarderiez hors de la fenêtre et verriez?" She saw the astonished look on Alandriel's face and giggled. "I'm sorry, I had forgotten. But..." She looked over. A tall man wearing black was listening intently. She began again in French. "Ampère-heure, j'avais oublié. Mes excuses Alandriel. Ici, suivez-moi. Je vous donnerai quelque chose pour votre léger problème. Alors nous pouvons parler entre eux dans le même langage. Mon mari a un de ces petits traducteurs aussi bien. Avez-vous noté son collier? C'est le traducteur. La fille je vous ai dit qu'environ, Sage, elle est celle qui l'a conçue." Eschaton grabbed her by the arm and led her to the bathroom. "That was too close. Looks like you'll have to have one of these so we can speak privately. Sage didn't tell me she was putting this into the Morpheus pendant. And here I was thinking I was watching dubbed foreign films. I wasn't, I was having them translated. Here, wear these." The moment  
Alandriel put the necklace and watch on, she could remember what Eschaton had told her. Her last statement was the first she remembered. "Ah, I had forgotten. My apologies Alandriel. Here, follow me. I will give you something for your slight problem. Then we may speak to each other in the same language. My husband has one of these small translators as well. Did you notice his necklace? That is the translator. The girl I told you about, Sage, she is the one who designed it." She laughed. "This is amazing, Mystaiya!" She knew her cousin had told her not to worry, Duo and the other Gundams knew where they were going, and they were already following them. She laughed again. It seemed like they were speaking in English, but they were really speaking in French. "Your friend is definitely smart! But why do you speak so properly when you wear this?" Eschaton grinned. "All technology has its bugs. Don't want to risk saying something I might regret sayin!"  
  
Alandriel felt as though she couldn't eat another bite for the rest of her life. "We won't be able to leave for a few days. I'm hoping that you are capable of helping us. Miss Relena is being held somewhere in the French Quarter. I am not sure where, but I know how long it will be before she's moved. And I know who's behind all of this. Its as Sage thought, Denizen. I'm going to be disguised quite a bit. The rest of you will just walk around the Quarter. I'll usually be found on Bourbon Street. I need everyone to keep their ears open. That's why I'm giving you all these translators." She passed some boxes to the Gundams. Duo showed them how to use them. "Ok guys, just open up the box and put this around your neck. Now, this large round thing should be behind you, resting on your spinal chord. That's where your nerves are all connected. Don't worry, it'll stay there, believe me. This small tear-shaped thing should be right where your two clavicles meet. To activate it, just  
use this watch. The buttons control what language you want to be speaking in or listening to. Of course, there is a way to listen to all of the languages at the same time, but you'll have to figure that one out." He took a deep breath and quaffed his glass of red wine in one large gulp. "Remind me never to let you convince me to explain anything. It makes me thirsty." Eschaton looked up at him innocently before sipping her own wine.  
  
Very late that night, Duo and Eschaton were walking alone in the Quarter. "It's ok Nekomon." Moose had just called. She said Eschaton would never be able to have children because of the extreme difference between her DNA and everyone else's. Eschaton was saddened by the news, walking off into the night before she could even remember about her contacts or her human medicine. Duo had followed her, finding her about an hour after she left. It was difficult; she was very good at hiding herself, especially when she really was herself. She had managed to tell Duo without crying, but after she told him, she couldn't stop herself and broke down completely. She had always wanted to have a child. Now, she would never be able to have one. Duo had no idea what to do, so just held his wife comfortingly until she stopped crying. He helped her up and they walked around a little. They didn't even notice when a group of men wearing black surrounded them. "Aw, how sad. The poor little cat  
monster can't have kittens. Boohoo! I say we see if she can in her next life! Get her!" The group of men attacked. Duo pulled Eschaton away from the men. The ran, ducking into a small side alley. They were lucky; the men ran by. Duo turned to look at his wife. She didn't look sad anymore, or remotely scared. She looked ready to kill. "Let's go..." she said, her voice low, cold, and dangerous. She yanked Duo with a strength that surprised him and walked away, her tail lashing violently. The men were standing around in front of a wall. "He couldn't have pulled her over that wall. Maybe she could get up by herself, but he could never..." A slow murderous voice cut into the man's statement. "I say I find out if any of you have next lives. Now who's first?" The man who had spoken ran at her with a yell, preparing to thrust into her with a dagger. She pushed Duo away from her and sprang on him with an enraged snarl, using her Elendium claws to slash his throat, killing him  
instantly. "Next?" None of the men stepped forward. She prowled over towards them, her Elendium claws red with blood. "Then I'll take all of you on at the same time. C'mon freaks, I dare you!" The men charged forward. She charged right back at them, the claws of both hands unsheathed. Duo watched in amazement. He had seen her mad before. But he had thought she was at her limit when Denizen shattered her hand. That was as nothing compared to her now. He wouldn't have been able to recognize her if he had just walked over. Her mouth was opened wide, showing her glittering fangs. She bit at one of the men's hands, nearly ripping it open. She spun around, delivering a powerful roundhouse kick to the man's stomach, causing him to pass out. She turned, and Duo was able to see her eyes. They glowed in the lamplight, the pupils contracted so much that she looked like she had no pupils. Duo knew she was mad. The only time she could fight this hard and without a thought as to the  
consequences was when she was relying totally on instinct. One of the men decided she was too difficult and turned on Duo, rushing forward with a dagger. Duo dodged his attack and stole the knife, turning its point against its owner as he stole it. The dead man fell to the ground as Duo rushed in to help Eschaton. "Duo..." her voice was full of snarling menace and pent up rage at the attackers. "Go, I can take care of myself. Just grab the one who's stomach got kicked and take him to the others. I'll be back. He must know something about Relena. Zechs will want to speak with him." She turned back with a wild screeching roar, dealing death with a quick closed-fist swipe, breaking an attacker's neck as he cut her shoulder. Duo grabbed the unconscious man and threw him over his shoulder, running towards the hotel. He stopped and looked back once more. She was executing a quick dodging spin, her long silver braid swinging out behind her as she leapt up to avoid a low slash. She  
landed in the perfect position to kill another attacker. Which she did.  
  
"So you just left my cousin out there with a group of men trying to kill her? How could you do that???" Alandriel was furious. Duo sighed to himself. He had been thinking that exact same thing. "Have you ever seen her mad? I don't mean normal mad, I mean really mad." Alandriel thought. She could not think of a single incident where Eschaton had been that...wildly angry. Maybe annoyed, but never so angry. There was a weak knock at the door. The people in the room froze, then Quatre walked over to open the door. It was Eschaton, and she fell into the room, completely drained. She was covered with blood and gruesome cuts were on the tops of her arms from when she shielded her face and throat. She was hardly able to speak. "Got away...few more came...don't think was followed. Give me some bandages. I wanna find them. Show them not to do that to me. They'll not live to regret it. They'll die to regret it." She tried to get up, but her arms and legs shook and she passed out,  
almost falling again as Duo caught her. "I think Moose should get here. Someone, call her. Alandriel, you stay here and make sure she has everything she needs. I'm gunna find the rest of those guys. Quatre, you and Trowa stay here and make sure they don't come to find her. Wufei, you and Heero will come with me. We'll split up when we reach the alley she was attacked in. I'll say this. We're not looking for prisoners." The angry Gundam and his companions walked from the room.  
  
There were bloody bodies on the ground, and some strands of silver hair in a puddle of blood and water. Duo whistled lowly. There were only three directions to go from the only outlet in the alley. Duo took the left turn, Wufei the right, and Heero took the center. Duo heard a muffled panting and the sound of stumbling feet. He drew his gun from its holster and watched, but the unknown person turned out to be a drunk. "Black demons...gotta stop drinkin...never seen nuthin like it..." he took a bottle from his pocket and emptied it out onto the pavement before smashing it on the ground. "'Scuse me, but you said you saw some black demons. Where were they?" The drunkard turned and pointed behind him. "There, but who're you? You couldn't be a black angel, or am I dieing cuzza my drinkin?" Duo ran off in the indicated direction, calling over his shoulder, "No, but I'm the god of death!" The drunkard sat down on the ground. "I need a drink..."  
  
The injured soldier stumbled to the hidden skimmer. "Denizen, failed. She got away, one of...men was captured...being followed by Gundam, send help, please..." Denizen's harsh voice cut into the man's gasping speech. He popped up on the vid monitor, fingering a strange looking remote lovingly. "You failed, now, should I forgive you? Or should I press this button?" The soldier began to beg in a terrified voice. "Please, sir, no! I promise, she can't live, she was hurt too badly! Please, don't press the button, please sir, I'm begging you! I'll do anything!" Denizen soothed him, his normally harsh voice smooth as silk. "Don't worry, Linder. You've served me well before. When the cat-bitch was captured, you behaved exactly the way I wished you to. Don't worry, I won't push the button. And as to what you can do...you can die." Denizen handed the control to the young, black teenage boy sitting on his right side. The boy smiled evilly, showing fang-like teeth, then pushed the  
button. The skimmer erupted into a fireball, the sound of hissing, melting metal drowning out Linder's tortured scream of agonizing pain. Denizen turned to the teenager, chuckling evilly. "You have done well, Lissom. You have done well indeed. You have made your father proud, my son." The boy laughed crazily, the eyes that were so like his father's flashing. "We must make sure the captured soldier does not speak. I believe Miyaku will do nicely. Send for her." Lissom smiled again. The young assassin would be perfect. Unlike Shanaiha, she was no loss if she was killed, in fact, it could be arranged in a way that she would not survive her first assignment.  
  
The room was dark and silent, save for the sounds of heavy kicks and punches connecting to a large punching bag. Miyaku Black was training, and no one would dare interrupt her. She was quiet, and it could be difficult to make her angry, but when she did get angry, her rage was as a flood, consuming everything in its path. There was a sharp knock at her door. The young woman snarled to herself. Her voice was cold, soft, and low. "Dare desu ka?" The knocking continued, and she spoke once again, in English this time. "Who is it?" The knocking stopped, and the door was flung open. It was Lissom, and he was smiling evilly. "Well, if it isn't the little parentless wretch. I hope you're ready for an assignment." Miyaku turned her back to Lissom and began planting heavy kicks and punches to the heavy punching bag. "Nani desu ka?" Lissom scowled at her back as she methodically struck the bag. Lissom didn't know what she was saying, but had a feeling what her question was. "One of the  
assassins was captured. You are to find him and eliminate him. He's somewhere in New Orleans. Look for the Gundams, and you've found him." He turned and walked out of the room. When she heard the door close, she jabbed angrily with her right fist. The weighted punching bag swung crazily as she walked over to her closet to change into something suitable for the mission. She caught a look at herself in the mirror. Her strange almond shaped eyes seemed to glow in the dim room. She said nothing to anyone as she boarded the small, one person skimmer she was to pilot to New Orleans. About fifteen minutes after she left, three men dressed in the black uniforms of the Sons of Darkness boarded another skimmer, following her. Denizen didn't want her to return, and they were to ensure that she wasn't.  
  
Moose hurried into the room. Eschaton was on the bed, feverish and hallucinating. She screamed when Moose sat down beside her. "Mother, father, NOOOOOO!!!!" Moose looked down at her, startled. Eschaton had never really told anyone about what had happened to her when her parents died, she had not even spoken about how they died, or about the attack on Ivystone. She had never described her emotions when these things happened. But it looked like she would now. Moose needed help. Whenever she tried to touch the injured girl, Eschaton began thrashing around, reliving the deaths of those she cared for, trying to help them in her nightmares. Moose tried to hold her, but couldn't. "Someone, go get help! I can't hold her down!" Alandriel ran from the room and out of the building, searching the streets for Duo and the other Gundams. Trowa and Quatre stayed on guard, ensuring that none of the assassins came back. They also made sure the captured man did not try to complete his mission.  
  
Alandriel ran through the dark streets, panting as she called after the injured young woman's husband. "Duo, hurry! Moose needs your help!" Duo was standing on a street corner, watching the skimmer burn in front of him. He turned when he heard Alandriel's shout. "What's wrong! What happened!" Alandriel told him hurriedly. He began running, leaving the panting Alandriel behind. When he reached the room, he heard Eschaton's agonized scream as she relived the destruction of Ivystone Abbey. He tried to soothe her, but her wide open eyes looked right through him, seeing a picture of horror only she could see. "I think at least one of the knives had some type of poison on it. Denizen must have known she might get away and given them poisoned knives. I'm not sure what type it is. I have to find out what it is. Also, I think one of the knives broke when she was hit. Hold her while I dig it out." It was no easy task; her fear gave her the power of a berserker. Moose was dripping  
sweat as she carefully dug the shard out. Eschaton didn't even feel it; she was too deep in her own mind to know what was happening. The moment she got it, she took small shaving from it and put it into a box, then filled the box with some type of liquid. It turned colors, and Moose watched it carefully. The moment it turned black, Moose opened her medic's bag and began mixing together many chemicals. "It's arsenic, and a strong form of it. She's lucky, her ADD is fighting the effects, but she can only last so long. She's already weakening to it." It was true. Eschaton's voice had sunk to nearly a whisper, her movements were weak, and her eyes seemed slightly glazed and glassy. Moose lit a lighter and put it under the beaker with the mixture in it. She waited till it began bubbling before sealing the beaker and putting it into a bowl full of ice. Steam hissed from the bowl, and Moose picked up the beaker, forcing Eschaton's jaws apart and pouring it between her teeth. The  
girl's body relaxed and she fell into a deep sleep. Moose wiped sweat from her eyes with her arm. "I think she's past it. She should wake up in about ten hours, but then again, since its her, it could be more or less." Wufei and Heero walked in. "We found our targets." Quatre and Trowa followed them, and Quatre asked what to do about the prisoner. "Let's get Zechs over here. He'll want to question him. But if only we could have this building completely emptied..." Duo paused and looked over at the sleeping, bandage covered form of Eschaton. Quatre took the opportunity and spoke. "I can buy it, then when we're through, I can just use it for storage, or give it back to the community. I think we should get Zechs and Noin, they'll be able to get the information out of the prisoner." Everyone agreed; it was a plan. But they didn't know someone was listening to them from under the window. A young woman with silky, black hair and strange, almond-shaped eyes. "That will make this  
job so much easier."  
  
Miyaku spent a week as an ordinary tourist. The building had been bought, and the people who once lived in it were provided for by Quatre's money. There had been a great change wrought in the building, although Miyaku didn't know it. It was full of machinery, and the underground parking garage was completely transformed into a hangar for the new Gundam mobile suits. She had been watching them for a few days when it appeared that Eschaton was nearly fully healed. She was in bed, still sad about Moose's news. Duo could think of nothing to cheer her up, then tried to think of something to make her angry. She was usually pretty happy after a fight, especially one with him that wasn't really serious. "I think I know how to make Nekomon cheer up. This will be a little strange, and I suggest no one getting in her line of sight until I say so. Or until she's flat on her back and unable to move. But I suggest waiting till I say so." He winked at the others. Then waved them out of the  
room and walked to the Eschaton's door. He knocked, and she answered, and he walked in. He had a look of heroic duty on his face, and she looked at him suspiciously. "I have a present. Anger Management Therapy!" He was poised, ready to run, and rightly so. Before he had even finished speaking, Eschaton was giving him a low growl and getting up. The moment he finished, she jumped out of bed and pounced on him, but he rolled over and pinned her against the ground. "Oh, Nekomon, I thought you'd just love it! I'm so glad to know that I'm right!" That did it. She gave an enraged yell and slipped from his grasp, throwing punches without a care in the world. Duo just laughed as he blocked her strikes with a pillow from off of the bed. In a few minutes, she was completely exhausted, and leaned her head on his shoulder, giving in to her tiredness. Alandriel ventured into the room, Wufei standing behind her but still visible in the door way. "Awwww, how cute!" She didn't finish.  
Eschaton gave an angry snarl and bared her claws, lunging up after her cousin. Alandriel ran as Eschaton leaned back on Duo's shoulder, a wickedly satisfied smile on her face at her cousin's fear. Duo grinned slyly to himself. After all, what person, alive or dead, could resist him when he wanted to do something with that person? He put his arm around Eschaton's shoulders, then tilted her head back and stole a kiss. She slapped him for waking her up.  
  
Zechs arrived on the seventh day of Miyaku's watch. She overheard him speaking with the Gundams and the almost completely recovered Eschaton. "Where is he? Are you sure he knows about my sister?" Heero spoke for the group. "He's in one of the old offices, office 319 to be exact. You can question him tomorrow." Zechs nodded. So did Miyaku.  
  
It was about three in the morning. The Gundams had set up an advanced security system, and it was a little difficult for Miyaku to get in, but once she did, she found it easy to find the office. She slipped in and put the silencer on her gun, then held it up to the sleeping prisoner's head. "Stop right there." Miyaku froze at the Lightning Count's voice and looked over at him. His gun was aimed right at her stomach. They stood for a few moments, then Miyaku lunged at Zechs, taking him off guard. Zechs fired, hitting her in the arm, but she managed to escape his grasp, jumping up. She turned and fired at the prisoner, killing him instantly. "You've just made a mistake. Now you'll have to pay." Miyaku looked at him, scorn in her eyes. "And how am I to pay? Am I to be killed?" Zechs smiled slightly at her boldness. "No, you are to replace him. I'll question you tomorrow. Allow me to lead you to your room." He tied her hands with some of the cords that had once bound the now  
dead prisoner. She was taken to room 320, but as she was walking in the doorway, a small ring fell from her finger and neither she nor Zechs noticed. He sat her down in a chair and tied her hands it. He then walked out. Miyaku didn't lose any sleep over it. As she was falling asleep, she heard two male voices. "Watch her, and make sure she doesn't escape. And make sure no one tries to kill her. We can only afford to lose so many prisoners. She fell asleep as Heero opened the door and stepped inside, leaning with his back against the door, his arms crossed and his eyes closed.  
  
"She was captured, I know she was. Otherwise, she'd be out by now. We have our orders. Lets go in there and kill her. We'll go floor by floor, and we'd better go together. I hear that just one of them destroyed twenty-two Libras in less than an hour. Just think bout how good they'd be at hand to hand!" The three stalkers snuck into the building, quietly searching empty rooms, until they found 320. "She has to be in here. I'd know that little ring anywhere. It belonged to Linda Black, that woman who adopted her." One of the men put his ear to the door. "I hear breathing..." He pushed slightly. "Something or someone is leaning against the door. On three, lets rush it and kill whoever's in the room. One, Two, Three!" The men dashed at the door, knocking it inwards. Heero had jumped free as they smashed into the door. Miyaku jerked awake and her eyes widened in surprise at the men. The men charged Heero, one waving a long knife. Two of the men grabbed Heero by the arms as the  
knife-carrier advanced. Miyaku sprang into action, using the chair she was bound to as a weapon. Knocking the man with the knife down, she slipped her small hands through the cords and jumped up, her hands held in a karate stance as the other two men advanced on her. "I thought I was being followed. Now come on, I dare you. Come and get me. You have guns, don't you? Well, then come on!" By that time, the third man had gotten up. He was at her side as she was fighting the other two. He stabbed down, but was stopped by Heero, who grabbed his wrist and wrenched the knife from it. He and Miyaku ended up back to back as the three men drew their guns. "You," she whispered. "When I say now, charge yours. I'll tackle mine and get their guns." They aimed. "NOW!" Heero charged the man carrying a knife as Miyaku tackled the other two. He was slashed in the arm by the knife and grunted in pain as he was kicked in the stomach. One of the other men stumbled over Heero, and the man with  
the knife escaped, unlike his comrades. Heero shot one. Miyaku killed the other. Miyaku gave a rare grin. "Thanks. You're bleeding. You might wanna get a bandage." The other Gundams rushed to the room. "What the hell happened?" Duo looked extremely confused as he gazed into the room, but Eschaton, who was standing next to him, didn't. "Looks like someone tried to get the newest prisoner. I say we have a snack then go back to sleep and figure it out in the morning, like maybe...oh, I'd say...three tomorrow after noon. And while I'm awake, I'd like to make an observation; we seem to be acquiring quite a few prisoners and replacement prisoners around here. Somebody take care of that guy. He's messing up the carpeting." She stumbled off, rubbing her eyes and trying to stay awake long enough to find food and reach a bed. The other Gundams, Alandriel, and Moose appeared in the hallway. Moose made a tsking sound and grabbed Heero and Miyaku by the backs of their shirts, dragging  
them to the medical quarters. Duo looked around blankly. He took a few minutes to realize Eschaton had left. He gave a sheepish grin, shrugged, then dashed after her, nearly tripping. "Baka..." muttered Wufei. Alandriel glared at him, and to the surprise of the others, he didn't return the glare.  
  
She rummaged in the refrigerator, pulling out some cake. She scowled. Cake was almost always too sweet for her. She put the cake back and grabbed the bottle of diet coke, closing the refrigerator door and practically sleepwalked with it to her room, holding the diet coke close to her like a baby. I must make a funny picture right now... she thought as she attempted to open her door. Why won't this damn door open!!! She carefully set the diet coke down, then took a step back, preparing to do combat with the stubborn door. Duo appeared and walked over, turning the knob the other way, and swinging the door open as she charged, causing her to fly into the room, screaming bloody murder. She fell against the bed, getting tangled up in the blankets. She tried fighting her way out from under them, but got even more tangled up, eventually almost completely unable to move. The only thing free and visible was her tail, which was lashing in a decidedly angry way. Duo laughed, getting  
her attention. In a muffled voice, she spoke. "I meant to do that." She then emitted a low growl at the offending blanket. Duo shrugged and picked up the diet coke, chugging it and tossing the empty bottle onto a desk. He grabbed an extra blanket and went to sleep, ignoring the wild growls of his wife as she struggled to free herself. She'll learn one of these days...  
  
When Duo woke up at about five in the morning, the blanket his wife had been incased in was in the process of being ripped apart. She had finally remembered about her claws. Nevertheless, it was a thick blanket, and she was tightly bound inside of it. He watched in amusement as Eschaton gradually appeared. She looked tired and disheveled, but grinned idiotically when she saw him. "See, I can do it myself!" He tossed a pillow at her, which she pounced upon, ripped apart, then decided she was bored and turned her back to the pillow, licking her Elendium claws in disinterest. Duo grinned for a moment, then picked up the blanket he had been sleeping in and threw it on her. She jumped, startled, and was almost tangled up again. She growled angrily. "That is NOT funny!" Duo jumped over and grabbed the ends of the blanket, effectively trapping her inside, then tossed it onto the bed and began tickling the struggling bundle unmercifully. As usual, she began screaming death threats.  
Someone sharply knocked on the door.  
Duo dragged the blanket over so he could open the door, and Moose's eyes opened wide as she saw the writhing blanket and heard the screamed death threats. "What are you doing?" Duo grinned and dropped the ends of the blanket, causing Eschaton to tumble free. She was livid, and began throwing punches at Duo, who returned them with a will. Moose knew what she had to do. She licked her lips and prepared to run, hoping that she wouldn't fall. Or if she did, she hoped Duo would be able to hold his wife back. "Nekomon! They want you in the control center! Come on, hurry up Nekomon!" She turned and ran as Eschaton looked up and glared at her. Forgetting that she was wearing only an oversize tshirt and some baggy boxer shorts, she ran after Moose, almost getting her when she tripped over her feet. Duo, however, grabbed the back of her shirt, although he nearly choked her. She had a dazed look on her face as she turned around. "Can you get her to the control room? The new girl wants  
to talk to her." Duo nodded. Eschaton was still standing stupidly, a look of confusion pasted on her face. "What just happened?" Duo sighed. "Why is it that I'm always the one who has to carry the crazy cat monster?" Moose grinned, then stumbled over the floor. "Cuz you're the one who married the crazy cat monster!"  
  
Miyaku studied the bandage on her arm. The young woman who did the job had just left to get the leader. She's good with medical care...definitely not like those freaks Denizen had as doctors! The woman, what was her name again...Moose. Moose was admittedly clumsy, and was proud of it in some ways. Miyaku had demanded to speak to the leader. She knew some things about Denizen's plans that would be of use. She was expecting to see Zechs, or at least Heero...and was definitely not prepared for who walked through the door. Or rather, who was carried through the door. She kept her surprise hidden, but sized up the girl quickly. She was about five feet, had a tail, long silver hair, and stripes. Her feet also seemed to be different from most human's feet. The toes were slightly longer than most human toes, and as the long haired man set her down, Miyaku noticed that she walked on her toes, like a big cat. The strange cat-girl turned, and Miyaku glimpsed her face for the first  
time. And gasped. It wasn't the black stripes on the face, or the small catlike nose, or the catlike ears. It was her eyes that startled her. They were hazel, but with a slit pupil, as in a cat's eye. The bright green seemed to shine, and the amber surrounding the pupil glowed, as some amber does when the sun shines through it. She shook her head roughly, as though to clear it, her long silver hair flowing like a sheet as she moved her head. "I'm Eschaton. And I heard you wanted to talk to me." Miyaku didn't allow her surprise to show past the gasp. "I know some things about Denizen that you might like to know." Eschaton's ears perked up, her tail lashed, and her eyes shimmered with curiosity. "Go on, I have a feeling I'll like this...or that it will at least come in handy." Miyaku swallowed as she saw razor sharp silver claws emerge from the girl's right hand in an instinctive flex of interest. This was definitely the cat creature who had fought Denizen, and she probably  
would have won if she had not been protecting two of her comrades. "Relena is, as you believed, being held in New Orleans. In fact, she's being held in an old abandoned building not far from here. Denizen's made sure its well protected by the "police" but they're really just his men disguised and given permission to stop people from entering the premises. She is going to be moved by November twenty first. If you don't get her by then, I think Denizen will tire of keeping her and kill her." Eschaton's eyes darkened, clouded by a memory. "Or worse..." she murmured, in a voice only two people could hear; Duo and Miyaku. Duo glowered darkly for a second, but Miyaku looked at the young woman in front of her in a keen curiosity.  
  
"Be careful, I'm not sure if you can trust her. She did switch sides when she was captured." Eschaton gave Shanaiha a queer look. "So did you." Shanaiha pretended to scowl, but grinned when she saw Eschaton's fake sorrowful expression. She had come to the New Orleans base to help watch it as Relena was being recaptured. The Mediterranean Base was almost completely cleared out, with only a force sufficient to be on guard at all times. Roughly fifty people. It was surprising to the Black Stars that they had been able to recruit so many soldiers; they were usually a faction of maybe twenty two people, twenty five at the most. The building, now given the code name of "Realm Foundation Office", was very well protected. Not only were all five Gundam pilots at the base, as well as Zechs Marquis and Lucrezia Noin, not to mention Eschaton, Shanaiha, and now Miyaku at Base Realm, but now all of Eschaton's command crew were quartered in Realm. There were round the clock watches all  
around the building, as well as a fake office area filled with off duty guards. It was a perfect façade for the Black Star's new base, especially since they were planning to recapture Relena.  
  
Later that night  
  
Miyaku snuck around the corner, keeping out of sight of the guards. She turned and motioned to the others. "Come one, hurry, they'll be back around soon. Follow me, its this way to her cell. I hacked into the database this morning, it should be easy." The black clad group of people slunk through the darkness, none of them making a sound.  
  
I'm BAAA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Well, decided not to make it just twenty chapters, try ending a story when there hasn't even been a major battle yet. Yeah, its hard. Well, don't worry, I might be taking a while to write the chapters, but I definitely won't stop. I'm having way too much fun planning the sequel. C ya lata! 


	20. Chapter twenty

Chapter Twenty: Rest in Peace  
  
Relena paced her cell, a worried frown on her face. She had been trapped here for so long, surely people knew she had been kidnapped! How could her disappearance be hidden for that long? Or did they care? She took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure. Of course they cared, Zechs was probably trying to find her at that very moment, and Heero… A shadowy figure appeared through the bars in the cell door. The door squeaked open; the lock had been picked. "Heero!" she cried in surprise. She ran towards him, happiness on her face, then stopped. Something was wrong. His eyes. They were a vivid green color. She took a step backwards, her hand on her mouth in shock. "Wh-who are you? What are you doing here? What did you do to Heero?" The Heero-like person did not answer, but advanced on her quietly, his green eyes devoid of emotion. A cruel laugh cut through the air.  
  
"Impressive, isn't he. He is the perfect copy of the one called Heero Yuy. You will not know this, but one of my men managed to get some of his blood by stabbing him. He thoughtfully brought the knife to me. I took a few creative liberties with X93. He is stronger, more perfect. And I have complete control over him!" He laughed again, his cold laughter freezing Relena's bones to the marrow. He snapped his fingers, and the clone turned to him, the expressionless eyes studying him coolly. Denizen's tall black son silently appeared behind his father. "Lissom, show Miss Relena how perfect X93 is." The teen opened his mouth to protest, but Denizen snarled at him, striking him on the side of the face. Lissom did not even stumble, but flashed his father an angry look, regaining his self control a few moments later. He pulled a gun from the holster hidden in his jacket. "X93, guard the prisoner, ensure that she does not run." X93 nodded once, then turned to Relena. Lissom aimed at Relena's forehead. She backed up against a wall and prepared to jump out of the way, but her arm was grabbed by the clone. She looked up at him as he released her arm, then shrieked in horror as Lissom squeezed the trigger.  
  
Eschaton's head jerked up as she heard a gunshot and a terrified scream. "Hurry! I think that was Relena!" Although she had never hear the girl scream before, she had heard her give a few of her many speeches. She dashed off into the darkness, unheeding of the guards keeping watch over the compound until she literally ran into one. The both fell into sitting positions on the ground, staring at each other in a stunned silence. Then the guard put his hand down, reaching for the gun at his hip. She realized with a start what he was doing. He didn't have enough time to even grasp his gun before she reached into her belt and pulled out the twin throwing stars.  
  
Miyaku ran after the girl. "Foolish cat girl, no thought of guards, no thought of ANYTHING!" Heero looked over at her as he listened to her muttering. She is a bit attractive…he thought, then saw Shanaiha loping easily next to Miyaku, pacing herself so she would not run out of breath. He sped up so he was shoulder to shoulder with the wolf-woman. Glancing around to make sure no one but Shanaiha would notice, he gave her a sly grin and winked. She stifled a quick giggle, then sped up, leaving everyone far behind and quickly overtaking Eschaton. She soon left even Eschaton panting. No one could run like the wolf-woman, especially not a tiger-girl; cats were never great long distance runners, but they could sure give you a run for the money in sprinting!  
  
Eschaton was running much slower now. Duo slowed so she could keep up with him. She had been losing energy a lot faster lately. And she seemed to be gaining a little weight, although he never would have told her that, she might have gotten mad if he did. She was a very light girl, even if she did eat whatever and whenever she could. Eschaton stopped suddenly, standing on her toes, swaying slightly, her eyes closed and nose held in the air. "Denizen's here, but, there's someone else, I-I'm not sure who…he smells a lot like Denizen, but younger… not as strong…" Duo, Miyaku, Heero, and even Zechs looked at her in bewilderment. Shanaiha heard her and jogged back to where she was standing. She gave a careless sniff, shrugged, and started to walk away. Her eyes widened as she realized what she was smelling. "I once heard Denizen had a son…maybe that's him!" Miyaku's strange eyes narrowed for a moment, the glowing green darkening to forest green, the bright violet darkening to a royal purple with its red flecks changing to a burgundy color, then blinked, her eyes back to their normal strange colors. "That would be Lissom, his brat. How can you tell that he's younger and that he's a he? Much less not as strong!" Eschaton gave her a thoughtful, measuring look, then grinned and shrugged. "Dunno, it's kinda like an instinct I guess. Why don't you ask Shanaiha?" Miyaku decided to follow through, but didn't get the chance. "Throw your weapons down and keep your hands in sight!"  
  
Relena shrieked and put her arms in front of her face to block the bullet. She could see it coming towards her, seemingly in slow motion, through her outstretched fingers. She felt the breeze of the whizzing bullet, felt something touch her hand, expected to feel the impact of the bullet into her flesh…but didn't. She had closed her eyes as the bullet came, too close to dodge. She opened first one eye, then another. The clone's hand was in front of her face, its fist touching her hand. He squeezed his fist slightly, and there was a crunch as the bullet was crushed. Relena's eyes were wide with fear as she looked at the clone's face. How strong can this…this THING be? X93 opened his hand and powdered lead fell to the ground. "X93. Destroy her, now." The clone nodded once, indicating he had heard Denizen's command. Denizen and Lissom walked from the room, both laughing evilly. Relena looked up at the clone. She was too close to him to run. She screamed a final time as his empty green eyes focused on her.  
  
The guards had their guns in their hands, pointed straight at the small Black Star group. Eschaton nodded her head almost imperceptibly and raised her hands in the air: she didn't use guns. Shanaiha blinked as a sign she understood, then tossed her gun to the ground, carefully concealing the daggers in her sleeves as she raised her arms. The others dropped their guns and backed away from them, their arms held high above their heads. One of the guards got behind Eschaton and put his gun to the back of her head. "Don't think you'll fool me, cat-bitch! I know what are! Now move!" He jammed the muzzle cruelly against her skull. She snarled angrily, her tail lashing. He pushed her forward with his left hand, forcing her to move. Eschaton walked, then suddenly turned, leaping to the side as he fired at her face. Her long claws were extended as she attacked him, dispatching him with grim efficiency. Shanaiha made a peculiar circular sort of shake with her wrists, causing the hidden daggers to fall into her hands. She gave the other two guards a wolfish grin, then threw the long daggers with startling accuracy.  
  
Eschaton wiped her claws on the jacket of one of the guards with a disgusted look on her face. "The only problem with these is the clean up…" She hadn't meant it to be funny, in fact, she was perfectly serious, but the statement still made Duo, Shanaiha, and Miyaku laugh. Zechs shook his head, an expression of slight disgust on his face. There was another scream, this one more panicked than the last. Not even bothering to wait for the others, Zechs ran towards the source of the scream. But he made sure he had his gun; alarms had started going off.  
  
The clone's hands stopped , brushing against her throat. He was looking at Relena with a stricken expression on his face. He slowly looked down at his chest. There was blood streaming down from a gunshot wound that had passed completely through his body. The bullet was jammed in the wall near Relena's head. His eyes focused once more on Relena, but they were no longer empty. They were filled with a strange understanding. He fell against her, causing her to fall with him. "Auroran nu gahn-ettay. Denizen et Lissom…linot un dyne." He coughed, then spoke once more. "Run, they're coming, they want…to, k-kill you…" His body relaxed momentarily and he closed his eyes, then shuddered as he struggled for breath. Relena's arm was grabbed and she was yanked to her feet. "Relena, hurry, there aren't enough of us here to fight our way out!" She followed her brother, but stopped once to look at the clone who was struggling to get up, all the while he was gasping for breath. Zechs yanked at her arm once more, pulling her out of the room.  
  
Eschaton and Shanaiha were ahead of the others. This time, Eschaton had thought to pace herself and was able to keep up with Shanaiha in a lope. They ran into few guards. It seemed as though the were being avoided by the guards. The few guards they ran into didn't even try to stop them, in fact, they ran past as fast as they could. Miyaku glanced around her as she passed through a doorway. Where are they keeping Relena? Surely she isn't this far in the base! There was a flash of movement in the corner of her eyes. She turned around, ready to fight, but sighed in relief when she saw it was Zechs and Relena. "You found her, good. Now hurry up! These soldiers obviously know something we don't. The first three guards were the only ones to try to fight us. Don't worry, Eschaton and Shanaiha took care of them. The other soldiers are running." Zechs nodded, but Relena looked confused. "Where's Heero? Denizen ma…" Miyaku interrupted her. "Don't talk, run! We've got to go now!" Relena started to finish what she was trying to say, but both Zechs and Miyaku grabbed her arms and pulled her after them. Someone fired at the group and Zechs knocked Relena down onto the ground. "Stay still, don't let yourself be an easy target." He began to walk towards where the bullet had come from, but Miyaku stopped him. "No, go ahead and get Relena out of here. I'll take care of this." She flashed Relena a smile and walked away. Zechs didn't even follow her with his eyes. He yanked Relena to her feet and they began running.  
  
X93 lay on the floor, too weak to move. Someone came to the door and opened it. "You failed! You, you fool! How could you fail!" Denizen was enraged. Everyone had been failing him lately. Shanaiha had been captured. Miyaku was either dead, alive as a prisoner, or alive as an ally of his enemy. The men he sent to kill her hadn't returned. All but one. He shook his head savagely, clearing it slightly. Unable to control his anger, he began kicking the clone repeatedly. X93 grunted as he was kicked in the stomach, then became silent, stubbornly refusing to even gasp in pain. This only made Denizen more angry. Using his berserk strength, he lifted the clone up high above his head. There was a barred window in the cell, through which pale moonlight was streaming through. Without a second thought, Denizen threw the clone at the window, throwing him so hard that the bars were actually knocked from the window. They fell to the ground a story below, with an unconscious X93 close behind.  
  
Shanaiha had found some guards who decided to fight her. She had once again left Eschaton and Duo far behind her. She was running beside a two story storage building. They had crept up on her, surrounding her, then shot her before coming into view. She rubbed the wound on her shoulder, snarling angrily as her eyes swept over the four soldiers surrounding her. Their guns were trained on her, but they didn't have a chance to shoot. One of the soldiers was hit by a metal bar. Then another was shot by the fallen soldier's gun. Heero stumbled into view then fell. He had been hurt. Shanaiha looked at him in surprise. His clothing was black, but it had a dark, slightly shiny spot on it. It was a bullet wound. She saw the bullet's entry point and narrowed her eyes as she saw it had passed completely through his body. She turned on the guards with an enraged snarling howl. Shanaiha drew two throwing daggers from her sleeves and threw them at the two remaining soldiers.  
  
Denizen walked calmly from the room, a satisfied tight-lipped smile on his grim features. He walked down the stairs. He was passing by a window when he saw two running figures. It was Relena and Zechs, although he did not know it was Zechs. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a gun, then aimed and fired. Relena fell without a sound, her brother not even noticing for a few moments. When he did notice and turned, he gave a strangled shout of rage, then picked her up and dashed off, cradling her in his arms. Denizen chuckled. His day was getting a little better. Now if only he could find that cat-bitch! He pulled a small device from his pocket and pressed a button. A voice rang out. "Base will self-detonate in: three minutes." He began running for the escape skimmer he had ordered, his son joining him as he left the building. He chuckled evilly once again. I really must learn to play chess someday, thought Denizen as he saw the skimmer. He thought he would be truly unbeatable as a chess player.  
  
Heero was flat against the wall, his gun held in his hand as he watched two tall black figures sneaking off towards a skimmer. He knew one. It was Denizen. He prepared to fire, but was interrupted by two battling figures.  
  
Miyaku found the person she was looking for. "Hello there, Marc, I hope you had some fun while I was gone, cuz you won't be having any fun right now!" Marc looked around frantically. He couldn't see where the voice was coming from. He pulled both his gun and a knife, the same knife that he had used to stab Heero with. The same knife that had been used to extract Heero's DNA.  
  
Miyaku saw him pull out his knife and gun. She laughed grimly to herself and walked out of the shadows. "I don't think that will work. But you might as well try." She walked towards him calmly. He backed into the wall, a look of horror on his face. "How could you be alive!? They captured you, so how could you be alive!?" She just laughed again, then gave him a look of disgust. "You once told me you were my friend. I'm glad I didn't believe you. If I did, you would have killed me. Am I right? No, don't answer, save your breath, pretty soon, you'll never take another breath again!" She leapt at him as he fired and was hit near the almost healed bullet wound on her shoulder. She gave a small gasp of pain, then attacked him. She was a martial arts expert, and the many hours she once spent practicing alone while a member of the Son of Darkness were not wasted.  
  
She quickly disarmed him, and they were soon locked in combat, neither noticing that they were moving closer and closer to a landing pad with a single skimmer prepared to take off. Marc saw one of his friends and shouted for help. He wasn't much of a match for Miyaku, even when her right arm was practically unusable. The second soldier came running up and began shooting towards Miyaku every time she and Marc separated. Although she was furious for doing so, she tried to escape from the flying bullets. Marc happily began to run towards the skimmer and his friend ran in the opposite direction. Miyaku saw Marc running to the skimmer and was no longer able to control herself. She ran towards him and tackled him. But one thing she did not realize was this: Marc had picked up his gun, and it had two shots left in it. But he couldn't use it now, no, Miyaku was too close. She would only disarm him again. But this time it was easy. Not only had he shot her, injuring her right arm so that it was pure torture to move, but she had been shot once more, this time on the side of the leg, so she couldn't run as fast. Or kick as hard. Then he shot her in the shoulder. She screamed.  
  
Heero looked back at the two running figures and prepared to shoot Denizen once again, but stopped as he heard a gunshot and a scream. He turned and began running to help Miyaku.  
  
Marc had Miyaku on the ground, his knee on her neck. She was struggling madly to breathe, but found it impossible. She began choking. The girl used her fingernails to claw madly at Marc's arms as he repeatedly hit her face. Her movements weakened and her eyes started to get glassy. Marc laughed and pushed his knee harder into her throat, causing her to try to scream, but she couldn't. He got up and stood over her body and pointed his gun at her forehead. That was when Heero came close enough to be seen. He could only hope he wasn't too late.  
  
Heero shot at Marc, causing him to fall to the ground. As he ran to help Miyaku, he didn't notice Marc reaching his hand for his gun, which had fallen maybe an inch from his outstretched fingertips. It was difficult to get Miyaku to come around again. He helped her up before she could speak. "You got him. I was going to get him, well, I was going to get him if I he got off of me…but hey, I guess that was ok…" Heero didn't answer. He turned to look towards the skimmer that Denizen and his follower were boarding. Apparently, they had stopped to watch, because he could see them turn and run, slowing slightly as they neared the small skimmer. He brought his gun up and aimed carefully, but quickly. There was a gunshot, but Heero wasn't the one who fired. Heero dropped his gun and stared at his chest where a dark red stain was beginning to grow on the black jumpsuit he was wearing. Miyaku's eyes widened. "Heero! Nani desu ka!?" Heero didn't answer; he was down on one knee, one hand to the ground, the other to the wound in his chest. Miyaku gasped as she saw that the bullet had passed completely through his body, entering through his back and leaving through his chest. Then she quickly stooped and picked up Heero's gun with her left hand, turned, and fired, shooting Marc.  
  
She turned back to Heero, a panicked look of worry on her face. He was now on his back, his eyes gazing blankly at the dark sky, his hand planted over his chest. Miyaku sighed worriedly, then stooped down to listen for a heartbeat, putting her ear to his chest and listening intently. She heard one, but it was faint. "Heero? Heero, come on, get up! We've got to get out of here!" She started as she heard the sound of a skimmer door sliding open. Picking up Heero's gun from instinct, she jumped up, spinning as she rose in a graceful, almost dance-like movement. Her eyes narrowed as she recognized Denizen and Lissom's retreating figures. She aimed and fired at Denizen, causing him to stagger. She began to shoot again, but was stopped by a weak voice. "Hah, you would honestly kill your own family…how absolutely hilarious!" Miyaku turned, anger on her face. "What the hell are you saying?" Marc tried to lever himself up with one elbow, but failed, grunting slightly as he answered her. "Denizen's your daddy, or didn't you know, slant-eye! Fancy you not knowing that!" She glared murder at him before turning and shooting. Denizen's figure fell this time and was picked up by Lissom. "Yeah, maybe I would! But right now, I'm just going to kill you!"  
  
Heero couldn't feel her try to pick him up; he had passed out. She ended up having to half carry half drag him. Eschaton ran up with Duo. They both stopped and looked at Heero and Miyaku, expressions of disbelief on their faces. "He got shot." Miyaku explained, her voice betraying none of her panicked worries. Duo walked over, Eschaton behind him. "Here, I got him." He picked Heero up and slung him over his shoulder. "Hey, if he lives through this, d'ya think he'll still call me Duo the Baka sometimes?" Eschaton gave him a look, warning him to stop talking. She had put her arm over Miyaku's shoulder. The black-haired girl was struggling to keep tears from squeezing out of her eyes. How could this happen? How could Denizen be my father? I look NOTHING like him! Oh, Ryuujin, please don't let Heero die! The small group slowly began walking for the gates. There was a loud alarm sound. "Warning. Base will self detonate in: fifteen seconds. All personnel to emergency escape pods." The group ran for the gates. Miyaku looked back as she ran through them, but Eschaton pulled her away. "Don't worry, I made sure the personnel wouldn't have any escape pods to run to. Come to think of it, I don't think there would be any personnel for the pods to escape with. I never did like these people. And I found a few who had been at Base Terra."  
  
She saw Shanaiha's form under a street light. Shanaiha was bent over something, muttering fierce oaths to herself. "Oh great, I forgot about Shanaiha! She'll be a little…er…upset…I guess…" She walked over, bent over Shanaiha, then stiffened and walked back, not even opening her mouth. She was pale. "Something's a little…strange…" Duo set Heero down and walked over to Shanaiha, muttering. "Oh that's right, leave it to Shinigami to tell a girl her boyfriend's half dead…why, I'll bet Nekomon thought she'd…holy shit!" Shanaiha looked up at Duo, an expression of curiosity on her face. "What, what is it?" Duo opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a large explosion. He calmly waited until he could be heard again. "I think we have one too many Heeros." Shanaiha glared at him. "How could you say that?" As she was speaking, Duo had gotten up and went over to where he had set Heero down. Shanaiha's eyes widened when she saw him pick up a messy-haired brunette. She repeated Duo's words. "I think we have…one too many Heeros!" As Duo laid the two Heeros side by side, his friends came up to look at them. They were exactly the same in every aspect, except for the facts that their clothing was slightly different and while one Heero's wound was on his left side, the other Heero's wound was on his right. Eschaton shook her head, trying to clear her confusion. She spotted some movement in the corner of her eye. "Hey, its Zechs and…is that Relena?" She ran towards Zechs, her eyes wide with fear. No, it couldn't be, it had to be someone else, maybe Relena wasn't at that base! Maybe he had accidentally picked up someone else! Maybe…it was Relena, but she was alive. She coughed slightly. Eschaton didn't think she had much of a chance to live. She was no doctor, but from the wound in Relena's back, she would say it had punctured a lung. Relena was slowly suffocating.  
  
Relena opened her eyes and looked around her. She saw Duo, but no one else she knew. That girl, she looks so…strange… she tore her gaze from Eschaton and looked on the ground. She closed her eyes for a moment, stopping a tear from falling. "One…one of them isn't…real…h-he's a clone…but don't hurt him…he's not like hi-his creator. He warned me but I-I didn't li- listen. He…" She seemed to choke on something and was unable to speak anymore. She tried to speak once more, but failed. Her sight dimmed as she coughed. Life was so short…she made one more effort to speak after a fit of coughing. Finally! She could speak again! "I-I was wrong…the only way to save both the Earth and the colonies is to fight. Denizen and his son won't stop till they're both dead. You've got to…to…" She coughed once more before continuing, her voice growing weaker as her life ebbed away. "You've got to show them you're not afraid to fight. No, my people will not fight, I told them too long and too much that total pacifism was the key. But there is one who can help you fight…he was once…a part of Oz, but he was a spy. I did not know of him, but he was a spy for me…he warned us…we didn't listen. He is now the leader of the Realm, formerly ruled by Naida Rhea, his sister. She did not wish to be a leader, so she gave him power before running away. He-he'll help…you…" Her eyes closed a final time. Relena, the Minister of Peace, was dead. 


	21. Chapter twenty-one

Disclaimer: Just noticed. Even if I put it in italics on my computer…it doesn't go with italics on ff.net. Sorry if that confused some of you…I mean, I KNOW I have 'bout a million and seven fans…but not all of them can be as smart as whichever one is reading this right now…right? :D One other thing that's slightly annoying. I'm writing this in Tempus Sans ITC, but when it's online, it's not tempus on most of the web browsers…ah, oh well, who the hell cares. Sorry it took so long to write, but I'm doing a ten minute, seven-fricken-page speech, and I don't even know where I'm supposed to find info on how the hell the ENVIRONMENT effects and causes ADD in children, due soon………and that sucks!!!!! Not only that…but about a week after I began writing this…my spring break started, and since I'm not at school, I don't have much internet access. And I'm starting my original, and the sequel, and the second and third, and who knows what other installments of my poem thing, and I need to remember to do the research for the speech…and an IPC test…and I dunno what else…and I'm getting tired of doing the disclaimers…and I dunno if I'm gunna take advantage of the leavin' it open for the sequel thing…hmm…better make it…naw, won't tell you…if I decided to keep writing the thing you'll know soon enough…Oh, and later on in this chapter, 'member, Nekomon's not quite human, so things affect her differently than the way they affect other people. 'GTT' means 'Gone To Texas'  
  
Hmm, ever seen 'Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe'? If you have…email me…  
  
Just a random thought while I'm on page 14. 'Mysterious Malady'…nice phrase…  
  
Whoever invented dentistry should burn in hell! And you're gunna see this phrase at least one more time…cuz I really mean it!  
  
Authors' rants, dontcha love 'em?  
  
  
  
Chapter Twenty-One: The Recovery  
  
X93 opened his eyes. He was lying on the ground, surrounded by people he did not know. He struggled to rise, but was pushed back down by a careful hand. "No, you'll probably hurt yourself more if you do that. Thank Ryuujin that you both are awake! Now who are you?" He began to speak, then paused. "I am X…no, that can't be my name anymore, I refuse to be known by what he named me. I don't want any connection with him!" He stopped talking again and looked at Miyaku. 'Heeey, she's cute…' he thought before continuing. "You can call me what you want." The girl lifted her beautiful and strange eyes to look at her companions. Another girl, the one he had been told of, the one he had been ordered to…he shook his head and stood up, trying to compose his thoughts. His mind was getting hazy again…  
  
Eschaton shrugged, indicating she had no idea what to call him. Miyaku looked at him for a moment, then spoke, some slight amusement in her voice at the semi-obvious flirtation in his voice as he asked her. "Then you'll be named Kage. You're like Heero's other side. Do you think you can walk for a bit?" The clone automatically put his hand to his wound to see if it was bleeding badly. It had been bandaged. He swayed as he stood, feeling as though he were…floating… "I'm not sure…" His vision blurred slightly and he shook his head roughly. He felt so…strange…Heero was standing near him, his arms crossed, his face blank. Kage's vision blurred once again. He saw the small group of people surrounding him through a haze of multicolored static. He looked down at Relena's body and shuddered. The clone looked back up at Heero. "Dou, nante isu nai…norei ish et lis." He shook his head once again. "You're Heero Yuy…I…" Kage passed out, falling to the ground.  
  
Miyaku looked at the clone, an expression of disbelief on her face. "I don't recognize that language…" Eschaton was fumbling around with the watch on her wrist. "That's no language that anyone else knows…the translator is going berserk trying to decipher it. I'm not even sure if that's really a language…in fact, I would bet my deck of blasting cards that it isn't. But…hey! That hurt!" She looked down at the pendant on her collar. The Morpheus disc begun to glow slightly. It had apparently shocked her. "It crashed! I don't get it, I thought this thing was supposed to easily translate every language, even Latin, and that is one screwed up language!" She walked over to Kage and swayed slightly, putting her hand to her stomach and grimacing almost imperceptibly. 'This is weird, I keep feeling so…strange…maybe it's Morpheus…yeah, it's probably just screwed up, maybe I need to get it reformatted…I just wish I didn't get all weird whenever Morpheus screws up!' Duo narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched her bend over Kage. 'This is crazy…first thing we do when we get back is talk to Moose! That crazy cat monster must have a cold or something…' "It doesn't look like he's faking it…he really is out."  
  
Duo walked over to her and grinned slightly, hiding his worries from her and the others. "I dunno why, but he reminds me of this drunk guy I once ran into, well, actually I almost shot him, but…he's crazy as hell!" Everyone stared at him for a second, then almost all of them shook their heads in near-perfect unison. It was only Duo acting like……Duo. "Crazy, sometimes I think you really are that: crazy!" He grinned at Eschaton's remark. "Hold it right there. Throw down all of your weapons and hold your hands in the air! Now!" Eschaton looked up, her pupils slitted with fear. It was a soldier. She recognized him as the one with the gray eyes and white blonde hair. The same guy who felt sorry for her when Denizen came to take her back as a prisoner. She shuddered at the thought of what had happened at Base Terra, but…this soldier was actually kind to her in his own way. She hated to do it to him, but…he was an enemy. 'Hold on a sec…' she thought suddenly. 'I don't gotta kill 'im! I just gotta knock 'im out a bit!' She nodded her head slightly at the others. She slowly raised her arms above her head, then her right hand jerked forward. The soldier heard the sound of the whiplash too late: it wrapped itself around his waist, trapping him as she threw the two shuriken stars. He was struck in the chest, but not hard enough to be killed. He fell, badly wounded and unconscious. "Sorry bout that mate…" she whispered under her breath. "But you didn't really give me a choice."  
  
Duo grabbed the whip from her and coiled it up as she wiped the two shuriken off on the soldier's jacket, then looked up with a start as he heard the wail of sirens. "We'd better get outta here! Quick, Zechs, you take Relena! Heero, you and Shanaiha get Kage, and the rest of you just run like Tricode's givin' you that oh-so-stupid smile that means he's 'bout to flirt and Havoc has a match!" The others obeyed and took off like bats out of hell.  
  
Duo didn't want to hurry her, but the sirens were coming closer fast. It seemed the cops had seen Eschaton as she stumbled and fell in front of the burning building. She was trying to run, but stopped, with a dizzy, slightly sick look on her face. "Just go, I'll hide, I can't run." Duo stopped grabbed her by the arm, almost dragging her with him as they ran. She was panting fitfully and nearly fell at least three times. They reached Café Dumont and he helped her jump the railings so they could hide behind some of the tables. The speeding car whizzed by the restaurant and both he and Eschaton sighed in relief. "Nekomon, what's going on? You're acting…strange…I don't know how else to describe it! Are you sick or something? What's going on!" She got up and leaned against the railing, her arms crossed and her head bowed. "I dunno what the hell's wrong with me!" she whispered, more to herself than to Duo. "Maybe its Morpheus, it's probably messed up…it has to be…but why the hell does it bother ME!!!???" Duo stood next to her, his hand on her arm. "Lets get back to RF, we'll talk there…c'mon, everyone's gunna be worried bout us……either that or they'll think we stopped to have some fun on the return trip…" Eschaton laughed slightly, but her laughter died in her throat as she felt another twinge of pain and wave of dizziness. It was getting worse by the day. She meekly let Duo lead her away.  
  
Eschaton felt better after a good stiff drink. The pain killers Moose had thrown in didn't hurt either…but…she felt slightly…hm, how to describe it…uninhibited, to say the least…She narrowed her wild hazel eyes as Moose came near her with a needle in her hand. The slitted pupils became small as her eyes widened. She tried to jump for it, but her leap wasn't as graceful as she had planned it to be: She hit the back of the couch head first. Those pain killers sure made it hard to make great and daring escapes from insane people with needles! Duo picked her up and set her back down with a sigh. "Honestly, why do you have to be such a coward when it comes to needles?" She gave him a look that would freeze a fire. "You've never had to deal with them the way I have! My parents weren't big on it, but my doctor sure was! Seemed to think I was some sorta….espiri, spearmint, eXpeerimant, er….a whatchamacallit!" 'Yep,' thought Moose. 'Those pain killers are definitely working!' Moose looked over at Duo as he wrapped his arms around the struggling Eschaton, preventing her from moving. In fact, he was almost preventing her from breathing. She stuck the needle in, and the first rush of blood was accompanied by an enraged yowl and a muffled grunt from Duo as Eschaton tried to make another break for it. "Hold still! You know how much it hurts if it gets stuck in you!!!"  
  
It took an hour, but Moose finally managed to draw enough blood to run various tests…and experiment with. It wasn't everyday she got a chance to get some fresh blood samples from that crazy cat monster: that girl HATED needles! Moose watched as Duo winked at Eschaton and led her off towards the kitchen. They were always ready to eat…she wondered what they would be having. Her stomach growled and she sighed. There was a quiet laugh followed by a loud slap. Never mind…she didn't want to know what was going on. They were always violent when they were acting like that…She tripped over the floor and her hand accidentally knocked over a beaker into the sample she had just prepared. The results startled her. 'It's impossible!' she thought in disbelief. She decided that she didn't have enough equipment to run proper test. She packed up quickly and almost quietly: she somehow managed to get tangled up in her carryall bag's strap. She left, saying a quick goodbye to the few people she passed and leaving a note.  
  
"GTT. Have better equipment in Houston…bye."  
  
  
  
"Hmmmm, I think I'd like something sweet…other than you, of course." Eschaton made a face as she slapped him. "EWWW! I HATE sweet stuff! Well, most of the time anyway…I still go into extreme mental distress when I try to decide whether or not to eat ice cream…" Duo grinned evilly behind her back as she turned to reach up and grab a glass from the cabinet. She nearly had to climb up onto the cabinet to reach it without risking making it fall. His hand was in the refrigerator and he touched something that made him smile like Satan himself. Eschaton yawned widely as she set the glass down on the cabinet. "Mmm, I'm tired…I think I'm gunna call it…a…night?" She turned slowly as she heard the strange sound again…kind of like an aluminum bottle with some type of thick liquidy substance in it…kind of like…a can…of…whipped cream! Duo sprayed it at her and she screamed, running like there was no tomorrow, completely and fully awake. She ran into the underground hangar, screaming, eyes wide with terror. "Get this…this…this STUFF offa me you freaks!!!!!! Help!!!! Get him away from me!" She like sweet things even less than she liked needles. But the others didn't help. Some paid no attention, some looked curiously over, and others just laughed. Eschaton was on her own. Or was she?  
  
Rhia looked down from her perch on Tricode's Gundam. It was a giant of a machine, a dark, lustrous green weapon, with double-clawed hands and a gigantic beam cannon fastened to one of its shoulders. Tricode grinned at her, a sly look in his reptilian eyes. "What, wasn't good enough for you?" Rhia gave a knowing giggle. "No, 'twas not that which pesters mine mind. 'Tis the fact that the lady feline is being near-ravaged by the long-haired Death Lord. Whilst thou aid me in aiding milady?" Tricode grinned at her. 'Damn, Rhia's fine! And, what the hell, why wouldn't I do it? Or that come to think of it…' "Sure, what're we gunna do sweetie?" She hit him lightly. "Pray, whilst thou desist wi' thine fool-like names? 'We' do nothing and thou shalt do everything. Or, shouldst I say that Ffrindar will do everything?" Tricode lifted one eyebrow, curiosity and confusion on his face. "'Ffrindar'? Who's Ffrindar?" Rhia looked at him, pride on her face. "Surely thou wouldst not think this thing between us had no results? 'Twould have to take root sometime!" She fluttered her eyelashes at him as his jaw dropped open in disbelief. "Come my love, and I, thine own and only, shalt introduce mine love to mine work!" She jumped down from the Gundam and Tricode was right behind her, although un-admittedly confused. And startled. 'Great, this is all I need! Commitment! That's it, first hot chick I see when I walk outta here tomorrow morning is my new girlfriend!'  
  
The couple walked towards their room. Rhia patted the bed beside her, her laptop sitting on the soft sheets. She clicked on something and opened up a program. She typed in a few commands, then clicked a button. The lights dimmed to nearly nothing, just enough for Tricode to see Rhia, but not really enough to see anything else. "Dost thou see what mine meaning was, love? This device can control each of the strange inventions of this noble stone building. Whilst thou use thine knowledge of how people like milady and the demon act when alone together to aid milady?" Tricode grinned, a small scrap of relief, and an unbelievable expression of evil glee, in his eyes. "Sure ,but I don't think you'll want me telling you what they're doing, it might make you a little, er…strange if you knew what they were…course, I could always be wrong, but I highly doubt it, seeing as to how I am and what I am. I'm practically a psychic when it comes to stuff like this!" Tricode thought to himself with relief. 'Well, the new girlfriend can wait till tomorrow afternoon…'  
  
Eschaton was still running and screaming, and she was still being chased by Duo, who was still using the can of whipped cream, although he was being more careful with it: it was almost finished up. Eschaton ran to the only place she considered safe in that building: The women's bathroom. Sure enough, Duo stopped right outside the door. "C'mon Nekomon! It's not that bad!!! Get outta there, I'm warning you!" She allowed herself a small giggle: this was the only place to go when being chased by Duo with a can of whipped cream. She stood at the mirror and began washing the whipped cream from her body. 'Ugh! How could he be doing this?' she thought, making a face as she rinsed off her long silver braid. There was a bang at the door and she jumped. Duo was getting impatient. She completely forgot herself as she grinned in satisfaction, so pleased with herself for getting away that she gave her claws a lick. And almost choked. That damned whipped cream was ev…ery…where? She licked her claws again, her face lighting up with happiness. It was non-sweetened whipped cream! 'Mmmmm, almost pure milk!!!' she thought with glee. She gave her reflection in the mirror one last evil smile and her claws one last delicious lick before walking out of the door. "Oh Duuuuuuu-oooooooo!"  
  
Three things happened at once: The lights went out, Eschaton walked out of the door, and Duo jumped at her. Unable to see what was going on, he accidentally jumped through the doorway to the women's bathroom. Eschaton blinked for a second to allow her eyes to adjust to the darkness, then saw Duo sprawled out on the floor, the can of whipped cream inches from his fingers. She pounced on Duo, grabbing the whipped cream and attacking him with it, causing him to yell. "What the…GET OFFA ME!!!" Eschaton, surprisingly, obeyed him, getting up and tilting her head back as she sprayed whipped cream into her mouth. Duo got up, his face covered in whipped cream. The lights came back on, but they were very dim. Duo looked at himself in the mirror and saw the whipped cream. He wiped it off with his hand and glared at Eschaton suspiciously. "I thought you hated sweet stuff!" The cat-girl gave him an innocent smile. "I do crazy, but this is non-sweetened whipped cream!" Duo made a face. "I shoulda known it was too good to be true…"  
  
He stood there and scratched his head for a second, then gave Eschaton an evil grin. Eschaton's eyes widened slightly, the pupils contracting into even smaller slits as the lights slowly returned to normal brightness. "I need to talk to Kage. He's the new guy 'round here, and he needs to know the rules. Like no chasing the leader with whipped cream! Or, come to think of it…making out with Miyaku five minutes after he wakes up. Buuuuut…back to the whipped cream incident my crazy Shinigami…" She smirked at him for a second before talking in a slightly sing-song tone of voice. "You could get in TROU-bllllllllllllle!" Duo grinned once again. 'Hey, its worth it!' he thought before trying to give her a look of remorse, failing miserably. She laughed at him, then, unfortunately, tossed the can in his direction, hitting him in the forehead. He sat down in a daze as she walked out of the room.  
  
A few moments later, her head appeared through the doorway. "Hey, crazy! In case you didn't notice, this ain't the place you'd normally be found, at least not voluntarily found…if you get my drift…" Duo just looked at her, still slightly confused after getting pegged by the whipped cream can. She walked in with a sigh and helped him to his feet. "C'mon crazy! Hurry up!" Duo put his hand on her shoulder as she began to walk out of the room. "Aw, Nekomon, you don't gotta tell 'im all bout everythin' tonight…or anythin' tonight, come to think bout it! Let's go get a drink…you know…a drink. Then we'll…ah…figure out what you need to tell them, we'll both think about it!" Duo grinned evilly at his reflection as they walked out of the room together. Whoever said that old saying…what was it? 'Early to bed…Early to rise…Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise…' was wrong. He'd be happy to go to sleep late and wake up even later!  
  
Eschaton paused as they passed by the hangar. Those damned pain killers…they made her feel crazy! She had the wild urge to see what would happen if she got in the Phoenix and tried dancing a tango above the French Quarter while singing 'House of the Rising Sun' over the mobile suit's loud speakers. Of course, there would be few drawbacks: She had no idea how to dance a tango…She would have no partner, and everyone KNOWS it takes two to tango…And if anyone heard her singing they'd probably declare war on her. Tigers might be good at fighting, hiding, etc., but they definitely weren't the best of singers! Duo nudged her slightly and she remembered he was there. 'Oh well…' she thought. 'There's always next time to see what would happen!' They began walking again.  
  
Tricode closed the laptop, a satisfied smile on his reptilian-reminiscent face. 'It looks like Duo's gunna be happy tonight! Damn, just getta look at that camera on hall 34 A! They're practically running! And speaking of happy tonight…' He turned to Rhia. She was giving him a rather interesting look, but he couldn't even begin to interpret it. And at that moment, he didn't care what it meant. "Hey there sweetie. How bout a congratulatory party in my honor for savin' the 'fair lady feline' from bein' partially ravaged by that damned hippie long haired Death Lord?" Rhia smiled and opened up her laptop, typing in a few special commands. The lights dimmed to almost nothing, the door closing, and locking, automatically as the program manipulated the electric sensors in the doorway. "Why, mine lord, of course! Whilst thou prefer refreshments…or…live entertainment?" 'Alright, matter decided. She's still my girlfriend…least till a cuter chick comes round!' Tricode grinned evilly as he once again closed the laptop. "You'll find out in a few minutes!"  
  
Rhia walked out of the room, clutching her robe to her and sporting a scowl on her face. A few minutes later, she returned, carrying a large glass of ice and a bottle of Coke.  
  
Things were not going so well in Quatre and Angeline's room as they were in Duo and Eschaton's, Dairaki and Richard's, and just about everyone else's rooms…even if over half the people in the base were sound asleep. "How could you say that? I've cared for you like…like…I've never cared for anyone else!" The usually calm and quiet Quatre was furious. Angeline had been so…distrusting of him lately! Every single thing he did was wrong in her opinion! How could she be treating him like this! Angeline leaned against the wall, as far away from him as she could get. How could she explain to him? It wasn't him…it was…something else! She didn't know what, but it SO was not him! Quatre didn't wait for her to answer. He stormed from the room to the hangar, making his mobile suit, the Areno, his bed for the night. Angeline didn't let tears run down her face. They did no good when she was alone. In fact, all they would have done that night would have been mess up her complexion. She looked at the door and knew within her heart that they would never have the same relationship they had once had. But she sensed that once his anger wore off, he would be ready to reconcile as a friend, but never again as a lover. She would have to find someone else, and as difficult as it sounded to find someone else as kind, caring, loving…as wonderful as him…she would do it, she knew she would!  
  
Ririku's eyes were narrowed in concentration. She had been working on the Phoenix for three hours. It was slightly difficult, but then again…she was a pretty good mechanic. She caught a glimpse of herself in the highly polished Elendium that made up Phoenix's body. Her cheeks looked slightly rosy. Perfect…how horrible! She hissed through her fangs and back away from the reflection. Unfortunately, she had forgotten that she was on the Phoenix's shoulder…and she fell. With a shout of dismay, she felt herself hurtling through the air. But, to her surprise, she didn't feel any pain when she hit the floor. In fact, she didn't hit the floor. She was caught by someone. As the unknown catcher set her on her feet, she looked up. 'Well, well, well…' she thought. It was Trowa. He managed a small smile as she began complaining about the mobile suit. He wasn't even listening to her. He was imagining being back at the circus. He wondered if she would be good at balancing acts. He decided to put all his cards on the table and ask her. "Hey, Ririku…when this is over, would you like to come to the circus with me?" She looked up at him in surprise. This was something she had never imagined. But she was ready with an answer. "Sure…but if I have to fold up my cape and stop wearing it…you'll have to drag me along!" He gave her a quiet smile as she continued complaining about Phoenix. She climbed up the mobile suit again and began making more repairs to the shoulder-joint, still muttering complaints to herself.  
  
  
  
Tarantula was tired. She had been kept busy all night trying to find out if there were any reports on Denizen and his son. She saw something on the radar screen to her left…but it disappeared as soon as she turned to look at it. 'Oh well…' she thought with a sigh. 'Maybe I'll go get something to eat in a bit.'  
  
Slade read the book…sighing now and then. Now that was her idea of a man…too bad he was an Elf. Those were hard to find in her opinion. In fact, she had never heard of people finding them. But she knew she could find him…someday. In fact, she had named her mobile suit after him. Legolas. She sighed once more. Why couldn't one of the Gundams have been an Elf?  
  
Peter sat at his desk, his head nodding as he struggled through computer printouts. "System Info. FAT32…etc…" his head slowly fell to the desk. He hated going through all of that computer junk. He gradually fell asleep, lulled by the sound of the printer. He didn't dream. It had been a long time since his last dream.  
  
"Blimey! That one nearly 'ad me there! But if she really wanted ta bite me…she'd 'ave CHOMPED down on me 'and an' pulled me over to 'ere! But as ye kin see, it was really more of a little nip tellin' me to BACK off and that she don't feel like 'avin' company tonight…" Steve turned over in his sleep, completely ignoring his namesake on television. He began snoring uproariously. If he had had a room mate, he would have been hit by the time he was drowning out the noise of the television. But he didn't. And as he had put it while talking to his pet iguana…"Someday me shela will come…and then I'll get ya yore own room mate! 'Ows that sound pal?"  
  
Sage gulped at her drink and looked up challengingly at Wufei, who definitely looked surprised. Raven, Ignition, and Havoc laughed at his confused face. "We shoulda warned ya! We don't refuse to have drinkin' parties with her invited for nothin'!!!" Wufei glared at the others and grabbed the bottle of vodka, choking it down. He stalked out of the room. The others stifled laughter when they heard him cough as he staggered into his room down the hall. "Well, it served him right! He shouldn't be so stubborn, stupid, rude, and…well, I'll think of something else to say in a bit. But now back to the drinks! I trust the jerk didn't drink everything…did he?" Havoc gave her a queer look after she rummaged through the liquor cabinet. "No, he didn't…but you did!" Sage shrugged her shoulders and sat down. "How typical. How completely and unbelievably typical!"  
  
Alandriel looked up, startled, as she heard someone cough violently in the room next to hers. She pulled a robe around her body and walked over to the doorway, pausing for a moment to listen again. Someone coughed again, but this time it was obvious they were trying to stifle it. "Damn it! How could I have let them trap me like that? How, why…? What the hell am I talking about right now?" It was Wufei, and he sounded a little upset. Alandriel entered his room as he was talking to himself. 'Oh great…he looks a little drunk. Must be around Sage too much lately…' "Wufei, honey, are you alright? You look a little tired. Maybe you should get some sleep?" Wufei looked up, his normally pale face slightly flushed. He was more than a little drunk…but then again, gulping down a bottle of vodka in one go can do that to a guy. "Sleep? Hah, to die…to sleep…perchance to dream? To dream…aye, there's the thing that makes me sleepless. In Seattle…I left my heart…in San Francisco. When the swallows…come back…to Capistrano…Rollin', rollin', rollin'…though the streams are swollen…keep them doggies rollin', Rawhide…the Rock versus Hollywood Hogan, the clash of the wrestling Titans! Hark! The call of Zeus to fight the beasts! Remember the Titans!!! The Replacement players! Guys who play cuz they like to and they were the only guys left after the other guys left! Left, left, left right left! G.I. Jane! Look Jane, see the dog that runs? Yes Dick, I see the dog that runs! Little Dick Whittington! Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers! That's the ol' pepper, Jack, that's the ol' pepper!. Cracker Jacks! Take me out to the ball game! A gamer's paradise! Livin' IN an Amish Par-ar-a-diiiiiiiiise!!! Paradise without the 'E'! The tang-eeeee zip of Miracle Whip! Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark…Oh god look out, he got his whip out an' he's gunna use it to cross over the bottomless pit!!!! The Arc, the Compass, the area of a circle is pi r squared! Pie, that food of the heavens! Heaven…there is no heaven or hell, just…used car dealerships! It's not my fault! My car ran out of gas, I had no money for a cab, there was a storm, an earthquake, a flood, flies, LOCUSTS!!!! It's NOT MY FAAAUUUULLLLLLLLT!!! Its 106 miles to Chicago, we gotta full tank a gas, half a pack of cigarettes, its dark, and we're wearing sunglasses. Hit it! It's a hit, and the fencing master of the West is defeated by the fencing master of the East! East meets West! West, Jim West! Artemis Gordon! Flash Gordon conquers the universe! Universal domination! Dominion! Zool, the minion of Gozer! Gozer the Gozerian! Some Sumerian god…I think it can hear you. AHHHHHHHHHH! It slimed me. Slimer! Who ya gunna call? Ghostbusters! Something else! Everything else! Make the voices stop!!!! Shut up when I'm talkin' to you! It's like a paranoid lookin' over your back! It starts with love, one thing, I don't know why, it doesn't even matter how hard you try, keep that in mind that I designed this rhyme to remind myself how I tried so hard!!!! Hey mom, there's something in the back room, hope its not the creatures from above! Somebody, Anybody!!!!!! Help me!!!! I'm not human!!!! Psycho! The Birds! Alfred Hitchcock, who didn't win any Oscars even though he got that other award thing which really sucks cuz after being nominated six times you'd think he'd win one specially since his was some of the greatest work ever seen on the big screen, or the little screen for that matter! That funny little man! Ryan Colmer with a pillow in his shirt humming that weird theme music from the Alfred Hitchcock show!!!!!! Whoever invented dentistry should burn in hell!!!!!!!" Alandriel did the only thing she could do. She slugged him, knocked him out, and went to her room, falling asleep in a few minutes. She didn't even think twice about his ravings.  
  
Miyaku looked at Kage happily. She had always thought Heero was cute…but a little too stiff for her. Kage was, to say the least, not as stiff. He looked up from the runes he was studying…actually, he looked up from the comics he was reading, but that day he decided to call them runes. "What, I told you…don't disturb me while I'm studying the ancient mythical runes!" She raised one eyebrow slightly, then rolled her eyes and shook her head. Sometimes, he was too un-stiff for her taste…but that just made her like him even more. She looked over his shoulder at the comic strip. "Thundercats, don't you think that's a little farfetched? I mean, cat people and that strange digging machine that panther guy made…" Kage interrupted her with a bemused expression on his face. "Well, unless I think mobile suits and Eschaton both aren't real…no. I don't think that. In fact, they are only slightly unbelievable. Now even more unbelievable is the fact that I look like Heero Yuy and I'm reading a Thundercats comic right now. Wouldn't you think that?" Miyaku grinned at him and began reading over his shoulder. "Now who's the hypocrite? Don't you think the Thundercats are a little farfetched?" She continued reading over his shoulder, hardly paying any attention to him at all. But then she answered. "No, I know Eschaton. Now SHE is farfetched. Shut up and stop bothering me while I study ancient runes!"  
  
Zechs watched Ririku and Trowa as Trowa watched Ririku work on Phoenix. He turned back to his work on Sundare. "Noin, see if the radar is working. Set it to search for…Libras. There shouldn't be any, but if we're going to test it, we might as well do something worthwhile." Noin nodded and initiated the radar. Something was wrong with it, there had to be something wrong with it! It showed a Libra looming over the base. She shut it off. "No, its broken. Hand me that updated microchip. I'll fix it right now."  
  
Less than an hour later, alarms sliced through the near perfectly-still night.  
  
Lissom looked over at his injured father, disgust and hatred on his bestial, but, thanks to the beauty his mother had possessed, slightly handsome features. Denizen was laying on the floor of the skimmer, weak from blood loss. He aimed a kick at the prone man's form. Denizen snarled in pain and anger. "How dare you, you bastard! How dare you lose all of this to some idiotic cat-bitch!" Lissom was enraged at his helpless father. Denizen's voice was raspy and weak, but still held enough cruelty and terrifying menace to stay his son's blows. "You try that again, and you will see what I can do against some young whelp who thinks he's stronger than I am! Like it or not, but what I am has made you what you are! In fact, you'd be nothing without me! I could've left you with your mother! Yeah, that's right! That Linda Black whore! I could've left you with your mother and sister! Or, better yet, I could've caused your death like I caused your mother's! The stupid bitch, she didn't know what was good for her!"  
  
Lissom quieted down, a look of studious reflection on his face. Denizen saw his chance. His voice was a soothing, eager whine. "I say we go find that cat and put paid to her, my son! We can kill her and all her followers, including her beloved and all her closest friends! Quickly, turn the skimmer and take it to Base Kansen! We will take a Libra and destroy their hiding place!" Lissom nodded slowly, indicating his agreement. Denizen angrily set to thinking about how he was supposed to get his revenge on Eschaton and the others who had caused his injuries. Lissom banked the skimmer, turning towards their ocean base. No one could pilot a mobile suit like him: the only reason he hadn't already been piloting was because he was Denizen's son, and he didn't have to.  
  
  
  
Moose looked at the tests as she was standing in her apartment in Houston. She had left the others to go to her more advanced Houston quarters so she could run proper tests on the blood samples. They had to be wrong! Eschaton couldn't be…no…it couldn't be true. She didn't even want to imagine how Duo would react, much less how Eschaton would…She began the long and tedious process of rechecking her results…it was going to be a very long night…  
  
  
  
Lissom imagined his Libra as he anticipated fighting with Eschaton…and defeating her: her death would be the most painful and humiliating that he could devise…but back to the mobile suit. It was a giant of a machine, with a deadly looking beam sword/laser cannon main weapon with the capabilities of destroying the entire city of New York with one hit. No one could hope to defeat him with a mobile suit as powerful as this!!! He fingered the controls lovingly. He had never liked New Orleans, and now…he had a reason to destroy it! Denizen coughed as he relaxed into the seat. He didn't feel he would live much longer, and he couldn't stand the thought of his son taking over the Sons of Darkness…but he wasn't afraid of self detonating his most powerful mobile suit…especially if it would mean destroying the Black Stars along with his son! The Libra sped off towards the Black Star hideout. It was there in less than three hours. Alarms were blaring as Lissom began his attack on the city of New Orleans. But what he didn't know was that the alarms had been blaring for well over an hour, and the city was almost completely empty. Empty, all but one person, all but one mobile suit…Eschaton would not allow him to destroy the city without a fight!  
  
Duo and Eschaton looked up, startled, as the alarms began. Hastily wrapping her blanket around her shoulders, Eschaton struggled up and opened her laptop, typing in some hasty commands. A radar screen appeared, showing a green shape rapidly coming towards the city. Her slitted pupils narrowed as her eyes widened in shock. "That's a Libra! And that is the biggest Libra I've ever seen!" Duo sat up, surprise on his face. "What? A Libra! But…what could it be…doing…here…" He knew in an instant, even before he had finished his question. Denizen would be looking for them. And if he knew Denizen from past experience, he wouldn't care about destroying New Orleans if it meant killing Nekomon. He closed his eyes tightly for a moment, remembering what she had looked like the last time Denizen had gotten a hold of her. He found himself breaking into a cold sweat as he thought of what she had told him had happened. The others didn't even know about it…the beatings, the drugs, the abuse…the fear…He opened his eyes and looked over at his wife. He could tell she was thinking about the same thing, but he somehow knew she hadn't told him everything. There were some parts of her imprisonment she didn't even think about if she didn't have to. But she was thinking about them now.  
  
Her eyes were blazing in anger, the amber surrounding her pupils was only outshone by the green in her eyes. Her teeth were clenched, her claws bared as they dug into the side of the bed. Her entire body was tense and shaking slightly. "Nekomon." Duo said her name softly, bringing her out of fearful trance she had been in. She immediately began speaking as she grabbed her jumpsuit and got dressed. "You're going to have to get everyone outta here! And I don't just mean outta RF, I mean outta New Orleans! Here, take this." She reached in the beat-up old black backpack she had used before she even met Duo. She pulled out a medal. It was round and silver, but it had some strange markings etched on one of its sides. "I'm going to have to call in a favor. Well, you're going to have to call in a favor for me. Go to the N.O.P.D. station. Ask to talk to Jace. Show him that medal and say Kat sent you. Then ask him to clear out New Orleans. Tell him its an emergency, and if he doesn't do it…well…just tell him the lives of the citizens depend on it. He'll understand." Duo looked at the medal curiously. "Hold on. What exactly did you do for him to…" Eschaton gave him a fleeting smile. "Now, now, now, if I told you that I'd have to kill you! Just do it for me, please?" Duo nodded as he watched her run from the room. She stopped and turned back. "Hold on, forgot something. Would you take care of my laptop and backpack? Just turn off the laptop and toss it in the backpack, kay?" Duo grinned at her, opening the laptop and turning it off, then prepared to toss it into her backpack. "Hey! I didn't really mean to toss it! C'mon, that laptop's nearly my best friend!" After carefully putting the laptop in the backpack, Duo turned to her, a smile on his face. "You're forgettin' somethin' else too Nekomon!" He kissed her before she could dodge him and rung from the room. "See, you can't get away from me easily!" She laughed then ran through the doorway and into the hall, her long tiger-striped tail held low and tense, helping her keep perfect balance as she nimbly dodge sleepy, and some not-so-sleepy, people. She ducked into D's room, then dashed out a few seconds later, face slightly red. After slamming the door, she shouted into the room. "Hey, make an announcement. Tell everyone to head to the Mediterranean Base A.S.A.P.!" She added in a whisper, "And by the fates, make up your mind…are you a gal or a guy? And stop harassing Richard…he's confused enough with your disguises alone!!!" She ran off towards the hangar. Duo couldn't help but shake his head. She was still the same as she was…just slightly different from herself.  
  
Ririku nearly fell from the Phoenix's shoulder when she heard the alarm. In fact, after she got up she slipped on her long cape and fell for the second time that night. Trowa caught her once again. "Wha-what's going on?" she asked in bewilderment. Trowa didn't answer her. He just looked at the doors. Ririku looked with him. They both stood there staring at the doors. Eschaton ran in the room, looking messy, tired, angry, and worried at the same time. "We're going to be attacked in a minute if I don't get out of here! Quick, what changes were made to Phoenix? We don't have much time!" Ririku quickly explained that there were no changes, just some repairs. Nodding slightly, Eschaton boarded her mobile suit and activated the alarm warning everyone to stay clear of the hangar while Phoenix took off. Zechs watched the Phoenix fly through the night sky. He did not follow. Revenge was a thing for one person to take.  
  
Raven, Ignition, and Havoc practically dragged Sage out of the building. She was searching for something to drink. And when Sage wants something to drink…hell will freeze over if she doesn't get it…and that's the sober truth…well, solemn truth…cuz she won't usually end up sober!!!  
  
Lissom snarled angrily to himself as he saw the darkened streets. He had never been to New Orleans before, but he had heard plenty. Surely everyone didn't sleep at night? He saw the smoldering wreckage of his father's old base. He was bored. So he fired his beam cannon at the wreckage. The explosion was unbelievable. Lissom laughed at the flames and turned to his weak and injured father. "That is what I think about all of your beliefs old one!" Denizen turned his head away from his son, a cool impersonal look on his face and a burning rage in his cold heart. He would show that brat just what he could do…and he wouldn't like it! A voice crackled through the radio. "Well, well, well. If it ain't my two favorite people in the city…Ya ready to die today, suckers?"  
  
Eschaton felt dizzy for a second as she spoke into the radio. Great. Those damn pain killers were wearing off. She shook her head as Lissom's face appeared on the screen. It was the first time she had seen him. His eyes were like his father's. Lissom snarled at her as he swung the beam sword through the air at her. She dodged and began traveling upwards. She had always enjoyed fighting in space. She could only hope Lissom didn't!  
  
Lissom could have cared less where they fought, especially since there were obviously no people to kill in New Orleans. The mobile suits were covered by the heat shields as they passed through the atmosphere. The moment it was safe enough…at least safe enough so that nothing would more than an uncomfortable burn might happen would happen…Eschaton pulled away the Phoenix's heat shield wings. Her mouth was set in a grim line as she looked at the large Libra passing through the atmosphere. It was easily the biggest mobile suit she had ever seen, but she didn't care about that…all she cared about was destroying both him and his father. And all those two cared about was destroying her. Lissom's Libra was definitely fast. And particularly nimble for any mobile suit. Of course, so was Phoenix. There was a metallic click as the Libra's heat armor automatically disengaged itself after they passed through the atmosphere. The small silver mobile suit was far ahead of them. But while Lissom seethed and shouted into the radio…"How dare you run! You cannot hide from me! I am Lissom, the most powerful being in this galaxy! I will find you and destroy you!!!!"…Denizen knew the truth. She would not hide from them. She was going to make sure no one would get hurt during there battle. She knew Lissom might decided to hold someone…or some building…or some city…or even some state hostage if he felt he would not win. Or if he was just bored and decided the fight wasn't going fast enough.  
  
She knew that Morpheus was becoming dangerous to her. She had been avoiding even wearing her pendant thanks to the dizziness she thought it caused. But if she had known what was really causing the strange things that were happening to her…she would probably have passed out. She didn't know the truth.  
  
After taking a deep breath and whispering a prayer to the fates, she began the voice activation of Morpheus. Lissom was directing energy blasts in her direction, but he was too far away to get close enough for hand to hand before Morpheus had been initiated.  
  
She got a feeling of deja-vu as the familiar sequence began.  
  
  
  
She activated the particle shield, setting it to full strength and deflecting some of the attacks. "Phoenix, activate Morpheus Thirteen!" the feminine monotone voice of the computer began the sequence. "Retinal scan and voice imprint commencing. Give your full name." Opening her eyes wide and speaking clearly, she allowed the laser to scan her eye, saying, "I am Eschaton, the end of days." "Voice imprint and retinal scan completed. Password." She blinked her eyes, shaking her head to stop the flashes caused by the laser. "Random Apocalypse." "Morpheus Thirteen Activated!"  
  
White mist filled the cockpit as a blinding light flashed. When the light and mist dissipated, Eschaton's eyes had changed. The green in her eyes were bright, glowing in the dim cockpit. The amber around her slit pupils was intensified, a bright golden red color. A helmet slowly lowered over her head. The Phoenix itself changed. The blue lenses that were its 'eyes' had become the same as her eyes, creating an eerie human-like appearance, but the rest of the head was in such sharp contrast that it seemed supernatural. The dragon-like wings seemed to grow, lengthening into something that could shield her, but could also be used as weapons; they were edged like knives. Phoenix's fingers sprouted long, curved silver talons. The body of the Phoenix glowed in multiple colors, like an opal.  
  
  
  
But something was wrong. She felt dizzy. Her senses swam as she slid in and out of the past and present. The Libras were attacking her…she had to stop them! Her heart was racing…her head whipped from side to side as she relived what had happened on that day so long ago…the day she escaped from Base Terra…Phoenix was flying around erratically. Lissom decided to use something…a beam net…to stop her wild movements. He did not know a Libra had done that exact thing when she was first fighting them.  
  
  
  
"Warning, critical heart rate exceeded. Emergency shut off of Morpheus Thirteen engaging." The helmet was raised from Eschaton's head…There was a flash of red light as the beam net struck Phoenix, and Eschaton screamed in agony, her eyes, now normal, snapping open in shock. When the red light cleared, she tried to manipulate the controls, but Phoenix would not move.  
  
  
  
She saw Lissom's Libra charging up for a tri-strength beam attack. The beam sword glowed white.  
  
  
  
She ordered Phoenix to start up Morpheus. "Maximum safe heartbeat overtaken. Heart rate is above 350. Morpheus could prove fatal." "I don't care!"  
  
  
  
Eschaton stopped yelling at Phoenix and watched in horror as the energy beam from the giant Libra sped towards her.  
  
  
  
"Phoenix, all power to the particle shield…… NOW!" Dark Phoenix was surrounded by the multicolored light of the particle shield. It's thrusters had no power and it fell. The energy beam struck it, but the particle shield held in place. As the smoke cleared, the Phoenix's thrusters fired up again, shining brighter than ever.  
  
"Reinitiate Morpheus Thirteen now! Emergency automatic shutoff overridden! Give me the maximum Morpheus effect!" This time, the mist was thick and black. Eschaton coughed slightly before it cleared. Her eyes had changed again, but this time they were really glowing, the blazing green and glowing amber shone through the black smoke before it had even cleared entirely.  
  
  
  
It took a few moments before she closed her eyes. "Phoenix, deactivate emergency automatic shut off system." Lissom fired again and would have struck her had his father not hit him. "You fool! You've left it until too late!" He was not shouting at Lissom, but at Eschaton. He offered her a chance to surrender. "You know I hate you, but I also admire you for your strength. Surrender and become a part of my army! You will be well respected…powerful, second in command only to my son and I!" Lissom looked at his father in confusion. Surely he was not really…no, he wasn't. He was lying to her. Lissom laughed at Denizen's weak attempt to make the girl give herself up.  
  
  
  
Eschaton didn't answer. The helmet had lowered completely, and her body relaxed, indicating that she had once again passed out of normal consciousness. The heartbeat monitor continued to beat, but then went almost silent, giving a soft beep now and then.  
  
  
  
Denizen allowed his son to laugh at him, then silently glared as he was berated. "You old idiot! I could have destroyed her with that hit!" He would wait a few minutes to hit his son. Yes, that would be perfect. He could time it so that his son would be hit at a critical point in the battle. At the same time, he would self detonate. The Libra would have to be close to the Phoenix. Other than that small detail, it was too simple.  
  
  
  
The fight began quickly and ruthlessly as Lissom's beam sword slashed into Phoenix's chest armor. Phoenix shuddered as Eschaton flinched from the heat of Lissom's beam. She lashed out with her right hand, Elendium claws bared. The silver talons of Phoenix tore through the Libra's back as though it were paper. The giant Libra was not your average run of the mill mobile suit. The primary heat shields closed on the damaged surface, protecting it from more attacks. Lissom swung upward with the beam sword and tore through her thrusters, completely ripping the shield wings from Phoenix. Phoenix was still for a few moments, but that was all Lissom needed. He rammed into Eschaton's mobile suit. Both mobile suits began heating up as they passed through the atmosphere. The Libra detached itself from Phoenix and shielded itself from the heat. But Phoenix was too badly damaged to shield itself. Eschaton screamed in agony as she felt Phoenix being consumed by the flame. But there was something Lissom had not reckoned with. The particle shield. Phoenix glowed, its silver metal appearing like opal as the particle shield surrounded it. There was no way the shield could completely protect Phoenix, but it saved Eschaton's life. She was badly injured by the heat. And she was angry at Lissom.  
  
  
  
Jace Alexander paced back and forth in front of his squad car. He had evacuated an entire city. Nobody had ever even attempted an evacuation of New Orleans before, but he had accomplished it. With a few minor setbacks. For example, when he was crossing the Huey P. Long bridge, some drunk guy kept running around screaming about black demons and the god of death. Especially when he saw that Gundam, what was his name? Ah yes, Duo. He wondered what Duo was to Kat. A friends perhaps? Or maybe a boyfriend? He didn't know which. 'Oh well, not that it matters. 'sides, if I asked, the old lady would get suspicious. Figures. A man can't even check up on his own goddaughter's relationships without getting the glare.' The Gundam walked over to him. "Hey, just wanted to ask you somethin'…why'd Nekomon say she was callin' in a favor from ya? Just checkin', ya know. I mean, what else is a guy to do when his wife is somewhere in space kickin' the crap outta some bad guy and tells him ta tell ya ta evacuate New Orleans and says that if she told him what the favor was for she'd hafta kill 'im…well, you know what I mean…right?" Jace raised one eyebrow. 'Well, well, well…looks like I'm a bit behind in the times.' He answered Duo, hardly able to keep from laughing. "Ya know…I had always hoped I woulda been invited to the wedding…seein as ta how I'm her godfather an' all. But…well, I guess that just didn't happen. Oh well. I guess it just figures." There was a scream. "Where's that dentist! Where is he! He should burn in hell! He should be burning in HELL!!!!! Alfred Hitchcock…the birds! When the swallows come back…" CLANG! Someone walked over to Jace and Duo. "Sorry about that. He apparently was dared into drinking a bottle of vodka. If he's bothering you, just do me a favor and SHOOT HIM!" Duo laughed as he saw Wufei laying on the ground, a bruise rapidly forming on his forehead from where Alandriel hit him with…what else…a frying pan. Wufei got up and began wandering around in confusion again. "I wish I had a video camera. Something tells me he's going to draw a convenient blank about tonight. Oh well, I have witnesses. And I'll be able to embarrass Wufei about something he can't deny! Wonder if Alandriel will help me? And its occurred to me: he has a remarkably hard head…" Suddenly, someone stuck his face right in front of Duo. "Gyaaaaaah!!! The god of death is back from hell!!!!!!! Demons! Death, I'm burning…holy shit! Hold on…I'm not really burning…but…!!!!! Little Nicky has returned!!!!!!" He looked closer at Duo. "You…You're…the god of death…I need a drink!!!!!!" He stumbled off out of sight. Jace and Duo both stared at his retreating back, then burst into laughter. "New Orleans…The Big Easy…don't ya love it?" Duo grinned as he nodded his head. "Yeah…nice place round here. Wonder where that crazy cat monster is right now. She should be done kickin' the crap outta that guy. Wonder who she's kickin' the crap out of anyway?"  
  
  
  
Duo was very wrong. Eschaton was in the process of nearly getting the crap kicked out of her. It was lucky that she had to be unconscious to use Morpheus. If she wasn't, she would have passed out from the injuries being caused by her falling-apart mobile suit. Phoenix was falling, falling to the ocean. She didn't realize that she was near the future Minister of Peace's home in Galveston, which was on a cliff overlooking the crashing waves. At the last moment, she managed to pull out of the fall, narrowly dodging a finishing attack from Lissom. Denizen snarled angrily. They had only been close enough for a second, not even long enough for him to reach over to the self detonate button. Now, Eschaton was staying as far as she could, but she was getting tired of running. She remembered what had happened the day she met Duo. She was fighting Leonard then, and the results had been disastrous when she decided to close on him. She didn't care. If there was the minutest of chances of destroying Denizen and Lissom…she didn't care what happened to her, just as long as she could rid the galaxy of both of them. The eyes of the Phoenix glowed brighter when she made up her mind. She swung the twin scythe and lashed the whip in the Libra's direction. She was ready for whatever they could dish out. And she wasn't afraid to send it back if she didn't like it.  
  
Phoenix's once shiny Elendium armor was blackened by smoke, some of it ripped away from the Libra's heavy attacks. It was smoking heavily, but Eschaton could feel it, somehow it wasn't too painful to her. She nearly allowed Phoenix to double over when she felt a twinge of pain. The pain killers…she narrowed her eyes when she looked over at Lissom's Libra. She smiled, even though she was unconscious. If the Phoenix had the capability to smile, it would have been grinning like the Cheshire Cat. But it didn't, so neither Lissom or Denizen had any idea of what she was planning.  
  
Lissom laughed aloud as a beam from his beam sword/beam cannon combination struck the Phoenix in the chest. It began falling again. Lissom decided to finish it off once and for all. He followed it as it fell into the ocean. Both mobile suits went underwater in a gigantic explosion of ocean spray. The Phoenix's once bright eyes were darkened. They were black, not even the dark blue that it normally was. The Phoenix was falling quickly, but Lissom didn't stop to think. The Phoenix was lighter than the Libra, it shouldn't be falling faster…in fact, it should have still been near the surface. Air bubbles were coming out in gigantic silvery spheres. The Phoenix continued falling. It was under water by more than one hundred feet. Then it stopped falling. The eyes lit up again and the particle shield was glowing like an opal as the water pressed in on the Phoenix.  
  
'I never thought of that! The shield can protect against water pressure too! Amazing!' Eschaton was elated. She wouldn't have to worry about the water crushing her inside of the Phoenix! Lissom would have to worry about the Libra. She didn't want to go any deeper in the water though, so she wouldn't. She would attack them from right where she was. But she was moving up without even noticing it. In the back of her mind, she still was controlled by her fear of being under water. She fought her fear and stopped moving up. She was still about ninety feet under water. The whip wouldn't work under the water, neither would the shuriken stars. She decided to use the backup beam sword and the twin scythe to fight, they were her best chances. The beam sword and Twin Flame, the double scythe, both glowed. She swung the scythe in an arc and the Libra backed away slightly, its pilot scowling as he saw maneuverability return to the Phoenix. The strange eyes flashed even more brightly than before for a moment, then returned to normal as Phoenix advanced, the scythe raised above its head in her left hand and the beam sword was held point first towards the Libra in her right hand. The unconscious girl smiled as she felt new energy run through her veins. She swung the scythe again, watching Lissom as he dodged to the right. She swung the sword, neatly clipping some shoulder armor from the Libra. A few air bubbles escaped the Libra. The Libra reached behind its back and pulled another beam sword from a hidden slot. Eschaton had only one misgiving before attacking. She allowed herself one thought before rushing in. It was a difficult battle, but somebody had to fight it.  
  
Denizen smiled slightly when he saw they were going to fight hand to hand. His chance would come…and soon. Lissom clumsily dodged a tri- attack: She swung the sword at leg-height, then the scythe at midriff height, then twisted the scythe so it narrowly missed the Libra's head. Denizen began berating his son. "You idiot. How could you have been even close to being hit by that attack! This is embarrassing…I suggest you let your father fight for you, otherwise you'll lose!" Lissom's eyes flashed angrily at his father. "Idiot, right, and this coming from the one who allowed her to escape when she was completely tied up…then allowed her to defeat him when her hand was broken, her side wounded, and when she was unconscious. Right, and I'm the idiot!" Denizen snarled at him. "I'll have you know that I've been leading the Sons of Darkness since before you were born!" Lissom smiled, feeling that he was coming close to winning the verbal battle. He was looking straight ahead, dodging attacks and making some attacks of his own when he answered. "Yes, since before I was born. What the Darkness needs is someone with some new ideas, fresh strategies. When I'm done fighting, they'll realize they were being led by the wrong man…and that's been going on for a few years. Listen up, Ancient One! I'm the new leader 'round here, and that's how its gunna be! You think you're so smart…hah, look at you, laying there in the dust. Why don't you start groveling, maybe I'll let you live. Yes. That's right. I'm taking over the Darkness now! And I'm gunna kill you as soon as I kill her!" Denizen was stunned. So that was…no…he couldn't let that happen! He struggled to get upright, then reached for the self detonate button. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. There is no self detonate button on this Libra. That button will cause your death!" Denizen didn't listen to his son. He pressed the button. He should have listened to Lissom.  
  
Lissom yawned as his father gave vent to a strangled cough. "I warned you old man. Never let it be said that I didn't warn you." Denizen stared in disbelief at the rod projecting from the control panel of the Libra. "I put that there in case I ever had a passenger who wanted to kill both me and himself. Rather clever, don't you think?" Denizen could hardly hear him. He saw the dark gates open for him without a sound. A red mist appeared, his son's face floating in it. His son was laughing. Denizen snarled and walked resolutely through the mist towards the dark gates…but something was wrong…horribly wrong. A red river was behind him, and snaky tendrils of…what seemed like…burning tentacles of blood…were reaching for him. They clasped him by the chest, legs, arms, and neck. He screamed aloud as he saw the fate that awaited him. He was doomed to eternal agony in the pit. He slowly sunk into the burning, bloody waters, screaming and struggling the entire time. The waters closed over his head, and one last terrified scream erupted from the bubbles in the water. The bubbles stopped. Denizen was dead, and his spirit would be unable to torture the minds of the living. He would pay for his wrong-doings.  
  
Eschaton was a good fighter. She hadn't used her mobile suit since it was brought to RF, but that didn't matter. It was more like her body than a mobile suit with Morpheus XIII. But she could still make mistakes. She tried slashing the Libra once too many. Lissom hit her with a surprise blast from the beam cannon. Water began rushing into the cockpit from some unseen opening. She was drowning, the Phoenix enacting her unconscious convulsions. Her eyes opened and she panicked. Phoenix began hurtling towards the surface, the Libra close behind. Eschaton gasped in air when they reached the surface. She flew to the cliff, landing and turning all power to the particle shield. She opened the cockpit, not caring about Lissom. Water gushed from Phoenix as she limply leaned against the cockpit doorway, gasping in the air. "You no good bastard…that was…a cheap shot!" she muttered through numb lips, her eyes nearly closed. The Libra was circling Phoenix, ready to attack at any moment. Lissom didn't see Eschaton standing on the cockpit door, which was lucky for her. If he attacked with his beam sword, she would have been completely finished. Finished…that was it! 'I have to finish him…his mobile suit should be weak enough…I'll have to check if it is…I'll use the self detonate. But I won't try to run. I have nowhere to run. I'd be thrown in the water if I tried, and I'd drown. I'm no good with swimming. I can't risk Morpheus any more. It's too dangerous. I wish I could tell Duo and the others…goodbye…' The thought saddened her…but in a sad way she was elated. She could destroy Lissom and Denizen with one press of the button! She leapt back into the cockpit. 'I hope he hits me with the beam cannon one more time. It should absorb it since I'm out of the water. I can't believe how crazy I am to give my life destroying both of them, the scum…oh well, it was fun while it lasted, but I guess its time to quit.' She managed to get in the air without sustaining any more damage from Lissom's thrust of the beam swords. She began circling, looking for her chance…trying to give him a chance. Lissom didn't know what she was up to.  
  
"What the hell is she doing?" Lissom began to mutter to his dead father's body…more confused than he had ever been. Denizen could have told him. He may have been an evil psychopath, but he was an old fighter who knew nearly all of the tricks in the book. She was trying to bait him into firing at her. But he wasn't there and Lissom didn't know all of the tricks in the book. So he did. Eschaton piloted her mobile suit so it would take the hit squarely in the chest. The particle shield glowed brighter. 'This is it. Now or never.' She went in like a wolf, or, for a more apt description, like a hungry tigress. The scythe cut the Libra in the side, ripping a glowing gash through the machine that nearly disable it. Her beam sword was knocked out of Phoenix's hands as Lissom tried to attack her. Phoenix's arms were wrapped around the Libra. She was too close for Lissom to properly attack. She closed her eyes and muttered into the radio, knowing that no one would hear since they had, hopefully, evacuated New Orleans. "Love all of ya. Just me sayin'…see ya round sometime. Good…bye, Duo…and everyone…see ya." She pressed a button. A feminine monotone addressed her. "What is the command?" She gulped, then answered. "Phoenix. Self detonate in…three, two……one…" Her right hand shook on the joystick controls, the claws digging into the rubber coating as her left hand wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. The Morpheus pendant glowed wildly one last time as she gave her final command. "…N- Now!" The explosion was amazing. Phoenix was thrown into the ocean while the Libra crashed into the cliff near the house. Men ran towards it, not even realizing another mobile suit had crashed. Phoenix sunk through the water, then floated upwards again, the waves making it drift through the water. It followed the ocean currents, a silver mass on a gray ocean.  
  
"I guess we'll go back to the city now. Nothing else to be done, and the people are getting restless." Duo agreed. He wasn't worried in the least about Eschaton. She'd win. She always did win, no matter how hard the fight, she always won. It took sixteen hours for everyone to get settled. Everyone except for the people in the RF building. Wufei was still pretty drunk, so he just stumbled off in the rough direction of his room. But the rest arrived in the hangar in just enough time to hear Eschaton's last message. And her last command to Phoenix. Duo ran towards Deathscythe Eternal. He shouted into the radio, "We've got to find her!" before taking off into the night, his radar set to track Phoenix. It took him four hours to find her. Phoenix had drifted onto a deserted beach. He radioed the other for help to bring back the smouldering mobile suit. And to find Eschaton. It was more than he could hope for. There was no way she could still be in the cockpit. It was too badly damaged. He landed. There wasn't even a groan to give a hint of life. It was difficult to imagine her surviving. Duo felt sick. His foot kicked something hard and he tripped. He landed on something soft, then scrambled to his feet, smiling. "Nekomon!!! You're…" He didn't finish. Her eyes were half open, the whites were all that were showing. He bent over and tried to pick her up, but something held him back. He looked around, trying to figure out what the problem was. Then saw it. Her right hand was trapped between the cockpit's shell and the heavy control panel. He grunted as he tried to free her hand. It was too heavy…he ran down the beach, desperate to find something he could use to lever the heavy panel off of her hand. Every second mattered if she was going to live…if she were alive. He found some thick drift wood. Duo finally managed to lever the control panel over then gasped slightly at what he saw. The hand was perfectly fine, just slightly bruised. It was the control panel that was damaged the most. The Elendium claws had dug into it, cutting through the circuits and slicing through the metal. He carried her to the Deathscythe Eternal. "I found her! Get Moose, as soon as we get back she has to help her! I think she's alive…if she is Moose can help her." He set his mobile suit on autopilot, using the golden button.  
  
It took about ten minutes. "Moose is almost here. Tarantula went in her new mobile suit, the Moonbeam. She would have used Sundare, but Raven and Ririku had just finished Moonbeam. She should be here in…" The was a loud crash. "About five seconds if she doesn't fall again." Duo rushed over to where he had heard the crash, calling over his shoulder as he went. "Thanks Ignition!" Moose examined Eschaton. "Well, if she's strong she'll make it. Don't worry. She should come out of it okay. All we can really do is sit back and wait for her to wake up. But it could take hours. Maybe even days or a week!" It took two weeks before she woke up, and another two days before she could move without gasping with pain. But Moose was right. She was just fine.  
  
  
  
  
  
The End.  
  
Well, not quite the end.  
  
  
  
  
  
"You have to stay in bed for two more days, Moose said so!" It was getting harder and harder to make Eschaton stay in bed. She had escaped, and nearly fallen down the stairs in an attempt to find a Popeye's Fried Chicken box and a diet Coke. "Hmmph, its not fair! You get to stay outta bed! Why can't I?" Duo pushed her back down again. "Don't make me start…please don't. That would be the seventh time within an hour that I had to!" Moose walked in. "Well, I guess now is the best time to tell you. You can't get out of bed to attack me, but the shock won't kill you." Eschaton scowled slightly. "Oh just get on with it! I'm bored and I wanna get a diet Coke!!!" Moose gave her an annoying, knowing smile. "Well, when everyone, including you and Duo, was asleep one night, I took the chance of…some tests…well, you're gunna have twins, and can I be the godmother?" Eschaton looked at her dazedly for a few moments. Then her head slowly sunk back onto the pillow. Duo looked over and grinned. When she finally found her voice, it was quiet, measured, and completely confused. "Holy un-divine junk. No, I'll speak frankly. Holy Shit!" After saying this, she passed out from surprise. It would be the beginning of a VERY long year.  
  
  
  
The men crowded around the smouldering wreckage. "He's dead." "Wait, here's another! I think he's alive!" The first man scoffed at him. "How could he be alive? You idiot, can't you tell they're both dead? Look at this one, the force of the crash made something from inside of the control panel practically skewer him!" The eyes glared at him, then slowly turned to the second man. "By the fates…he's alive!" They managed to pull him from the wreckage, then carefully carried him to the large mansion.  
  
The doctor finished looking him over, then walked out and spoke to the owner of the house. "Dono Rou, he is alive, but how I do not know. I'm not sure if he will be in his right mind when he wakes up, but he is surely a survivor! I suggest he stay here. He must rest, then when he wakes up, give him liquids. In two days he will be ready for other food." Dono Rou nodded and bowed slightly. "Yes, he shall stay here. I have just received a summons though. I am to go. Miss Relena is dead, and I am to take her place. As soon as my guest is well enough, he will follow me to my new quarters." He smiled slightly at the middle-aged man in front of him, his voice softening somewhat. "While I am gone, I will need someone to take care of my home. I wish for you to move in with your family. This dreary old place needs some young ones to lighten it up. It has been too many years since it has heard laughter and felt the running steps of small feet. Go home to your family now doctor. I will look after the young man." The doctor bowed and left. Dono Rou looked at the unconscious man, then turned and left, murmuring quietly as he walked. "I do not know who you are or why you are here, but I have a feeling you will have something important to do before you die. Good rest stranger, good rest, and good journey."  
  
And this is the end to a very long thing…and who knows, I might do a sequel. 


End file.
